General Electric Selects Plateau Systems to Manage Learning and Knowledge Readiness for Global Enterprise

Plateau 4 Learning Management System (LMS) to manage learning across the globe for over 300,000 employees, contractors, and partners and all business units

ARLINGTON, VA September 16, 2003 Plateau Systems, the leading provider of enterprise learning management systems (LMS), announced today that General Electric (NYSE: GE) has successfully implemented a single, corporate-wide instance of Plateau 4 LMS to manage learning for its 300,000 employees and contractors globally.

Under a new corporate contract, Plateau 4 LMS will serve as a core enterprise software application at GE, managing learning processes in every major business unit on five continents. Plateau 4 LMS is replacing numerous divisional learning management systems.

Plateau 4 LMS provides GE with a single platform to schedule, manage and deliver learning and knowledge transfer activities; manage the certification training requirements of its regulated business units; and assess the competencies and skills of its employees. The business-by-business implementation across the company is targeted to be complete by the end of 1st Quarter 2004.

Each of these business implementations in their own right would give Plateau one of the largest clients in every major U.S. business vertical. In the last year, Plateau has successfully implemented the largest corporate, government and nonprofit learning management initiatives in existence, and has validated the Learning Management System as a true enterprise software application.

A single instance LMS from Plateau enables us to provide real-time tracking and ‘global touch' with all our employees and partners for purposes of training them in the skills they need, said Bob Corcoran, GE's Chief Learning Officer. Utilization of a common catalog within this tool enables us to leverage core training throughout the organization.

As the engine behind GE's internal myLearning@ge Web site, Plateau 4 LMS allows GE personnel around the world to access their Web-based learning plans in multiple languages, including Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Hungarian, Portuguese, Polish and Spanish. All of these languages are being supported on a single database and application server instance. Students access Plateau 4 LMS by signing on to their personal development page, which shows them their learning curriculum, allows them to schedule and launch learning events and select a variety of courses to enhance their careers. Administrators use the system to schedule Web-based or classroom instruction and manage all the resources, logistics and finances that support training. Administrators can also mine Plateau's database to assess the competency of thousands of individuals and determine in real time the best people for a given task.

Plateau 4 LMS is interfaced with multiple software applications at GE. These interfaces allow GE to integrate learning with its corporate business processes, increasing productivity, reducing time to competency and enabling executives to align learning with strategic business objectives.

Corcoran adds: We have been operating on a single instance HRIS platform for several years. By interfacing Plateau with this core application for our employee information, we are expanding automation in the HR processes at GE.

Plateau is extremely proud to work with General Electric on what is one of the world's largest corporate enterprise learning initiatives, said Paul Sparta, Plateau's CEO and Chairman. GE has been ranked as the most respected company in the world for years for a reason. They know how to execute their business and they have a strategic vision for the future. We intend to ensure that Plateau 4 LMS fits into that vision by helping GE develop its most important asset: the people who work in its offices and branches around the world.

About Plateau: Plateau's enterprise-class software manages all of an organization's learning and knowledge on one scalable platform. Plateau 4 Learning Management System (LMS) is built on Web-based J2EE/EJB architecture, and is the engine behind the largest e-Learning initiatives in the corporate, non-profit and government markets. Plateau 4 LMS automates the management and delivery of online and classroom learning, organizational knowledge and competencies for clients including the American Red Cross, Motorola, Union Pacific and the U.S. Air Force. Plateau is listed as a leader in LMS evaluations from Gartner Inc. and META Group. The company is headquartered in Arlington, VA. For more information, please visit www.plateau.com.

###