Plateau Positioned in Leader's Quadrant of 2006 e-Learning Suites Magic Quadrant

Business Wire, Oct 5, 2006

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Plateau Systems, a leading provider of software for developing, managing and optimizing organizational skills and talent, today announced that it has been positioned in the Leader Quadrant in the Gartner 2006 e-Learning Suites Magic Quadrant report (*). In this most recent e-Learning Suites Magic Quadrant, Gartner evaluated 15 vendors.

Gartner, Inc.'s Magic Quadrant positions vendors based on their vision and ability to execute. Vendors in the leader quadrant are performing well today, have a clear vision of market direction and are actively building competencies to sustain their leadership in the market. For completeness of vision, Gartner focused on comprehensive suites, platforms, modularity, interoperability with other e-learning modules, and integration with other business applications. Ability to execute was determined by vendor product capabilities, viability, installed base, geographic distribution capabilities, customer support and satisfaction, and management team. Visit www.plateau.com to view the full Gartner Magic Quadrant for E-Learning Suites, 2006 report.

"We believe Gartner's most recent e-Learning Suites Magic Quadrant report further validates Plateau's ability to fuse innovation and vision with superior execution," said Paul Sparta, chairman and CEO of Plateau Systems. "By consistently pioneering and delivering new initiatives, products and solutions, we are raising the bar for e-learning suites and setting an aggressive pace for the industry. Plateau's growth and momentum continues to be fueled in large part by the technical depth and breadth of our products and solutions, the strength and dedication of our professional and customer services organizations, our proven record of customer success, and our recent geographic expansion."

According to Gartner, Leaders must not only deliver to current, evolving market requirements, they must also anticipate and deliver on future requirements. A cornerstone for Leaders is the ability to articulate how these requirements will be addressed as part of their vision for expanded e-learning suites. Leaders have a proven track record of financial performance and established market presence as well as a strong e-learning market presence with their installed base, and must demonstrate continued customer and revenue growth. In terms of vision, leaders are perceived by others as thought leaders, delivering well-articulated plans for product development, marketing and channel support. Vendors in the Leaders quadrant have the highest combined measures of "ability to execute" and "completeness of vision." These strategic vendors will continue to drive the e-learning market by broadening their suite functionality and integration. As a group, Leaders can be expected to be considered as part of most new purchase considerations and have high success rates in winning new business.

In addition to its comprehensive e-learning suite - Plateau LMS, Plateau Performance, Plateau Team Content LCMS, and Plateau Virtual Learning Systema Plateau recently unveiled Plateau Business Edition which delivers embedded learning and performance management functionality in a single solution, enabling organizations to continuously manage performance, develop capabilities, and optimize organization-wide talent. Furthermore, with the debut of iContent, the industry's most seamless and cost-effective approach for purchasing, obtaining, deploying and managing content, earlier this week Plateau has again set a new industry standard.

About the Magic Quadrant:

The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted September 2006 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Plateau

Plateau is a leading provider of adaptable Web-based software for developing, managing and optimizing organizational skills and talent to increase workforce productivity and business operations performance. Plateau's software is being used by some of the world's largest, most successful enterprises, including the American Red Cross, General Electric, Internal Revenue Service, and Wendy's International. Industry analysts, including Forrester Research and Bersin & Associates, have rated Plateau a leader in functionality, technology, and customer satisfaction. The company is headquartered in Arlington, Va. For more information, please visit www.plateau.com