Plateau Announces Integrated Performance and Learning Management

First Integrated Performance and Learning Software Suite Built on Proven Enterprise-Class J2EE Architecture Enables Increased Workforce Productivity and Business Performance

Arlington, Va. • April 26, 2005 - Plateau Systems, a leading provider of software for developing, managing, and optimizing organizational skills and talent, today announced Plateau Performance and expanded Plateau Learning capabilities. Plateau Performance provides best-in-class performance management functionality integrated with Plateau Learning to enable organizations to continuously manage performance, develop capabilities and optimize organization-wide talent. Plateau provides the only integrated performance and learning management software delivered on a proven J2EE Web-based architecture currently being used by some of the largest, most successful companies in the world.

Performance management is an emerging market forecasted to grow rapidly in 2005 and 2006. According to an upcoming study from industry analyst firm Bersin & Associates, only 31 percent of organizations have an enterprise-wide performance management process in place today, yet more than 60 percent are currently looking for a system.

"Employee performance management (EPM) software isn't new," said James Holincheck, vice president, HR applications at Gartner, Inc. (Source: Gartner Employee Performance Management Software MarketScope, June 10, 2004). "Packaged applications have been on the market for more than 15 years; however, enterprises struggled with implementing these solutions in more than a workgroup setting because the technology was difficult to deploy on a large scale."

Plateau Performance addresses organizational requirements for best-in-class performance management functionality that can be deployed on a large scale due to a proven, adaptable Web-based Java architecture with robust security, administration, and workflow capabilities. Plateau provides deeper functionality than enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors and native performance and learning integration on a scalable architecture that is not available from pure-play performance management vendors. Plateau also has a track record of successful enterprise-wide implementations, and according to Bersin & Associates' 2005 LMS Customer Satisfaction Study, rates as the clear leader in customer satisfaction among Global Enterprise vendors.

"One of the biggest trends in the corporate learning market is a convergence between workforce performance management systems and learning management systems," said Josh Bersin, principal, Bersin and Associates. "We believe Plateau's new performance management offering builds well on the company's strengths in enterprise learning management and will help organizations develop an integrated, performance-centric approach to workforce management."

BC Hydro, one of Canada's largest electric utilities, is extending its enterprise use of Plateau to include Plateau Performance.

"Plateau Performance has become an integral part of our company-wide initiative to increase workforce productivity," said Olivier Schittecatte, manager of learning and development for BC Hydro. "We are in the process of defining competencies for all of our jobs, so employees know exactly what is expected of them. Managers will also use Plateau as a tool for performance management and for succession planning."

Plateau Performance is part of Plateau OpenSuite 5.5, which also includes Plateau Learning, Plateau Analytics and Plateau Business Intelligence, integrated with leading collaboration and content platforms.

Plateau Performance allows organizations to define workforce performance requirements, measure employee competencies and achievements, and manage enterprise-wide talent. Today Plateau is announcing five new Plateau Performance products:

Plateau Multi-rater Assessments provides 360-degree performance assessments that can be personalized by individual and automatically updated with job changes. Multiple assessments can be completed simultaneously for individuals in similar job roles, reducing the time needed to complete assessments and improving their accuracy.
Plateau Development Planning supports structured yet personalized performance development plans with goals and supporting action items. Development gaps are automatically linked to suggested learning plans. Learning completion status and other action items can be monitored, tracked and adapted to business changes.
Plateau Performance Appraisals provides automated performance reviews that support organization-specific forms and processes. Built-in tools and wizards assist managers in writing reviews, and the system automatically tracks performance review status.
Plateau Goals Alignment enables key corporate initiatives to be cascaded down and tailored to reflect the contributions and objectives of specific departments to align individual performance with organizational objectives.
Plateau Career and Succession Planning allows organizations to manage talent to staff critical positions and employees to identify skills for targeted jobs and browse career paths. Integration with learning and development improves the readiness of candidates to assume future roles.

Plateau Learning enables organizations to create, deliver and track just-in-time learning tied to job competencies and job performance requirements. With today's announcement, Plateau's industry leading functionality has been further strengthened with additional advanced administration capabilities and integration with additional collaborative platforms including Macromedia Breeze Live. Plateau Learning products include:

Plateau Learning Management System (LMS) allows organizations to identify training requirements and manage training across the extended enterprise.
Plateau Team Content LCMS provides easy-to-use collaborative authoring capabilities for subject matter experts.
Plateau Virtual Learning System is an e-learning delivery platform that provides interactive live instruction to learner desktops using a simple Web browser.

Plateau Analytics and Plateau Business Intelligence provides a complete set of pre-packaged metrics, reporting and scorecards, and capabilities to correlate learning and performance management with business performance improvements.

Collaboration and Content platforms from industry leaders such as Microsoft, EMC/Documentum, Macromedia, WebEx, NetG and SkillSoft are also tightly integrated with Plateau Learning Management and Plateau Performance Management.

"Plateau has developed a world-class solution to enable organizations to improve workforce productivity and business operations performance," said Paul Sparta, chairman and CEO of Plateau Systems. "We have worked closely with some of the largest, most successful companies in the world to develop best-in-class software for managing performance, developing capabilities, and optimizing organizational talent, all built on the most scalable and adaptable architecture in the industry."

Availability: Plateau Multi-rater Assessments, Plateau Development Planning, and Plateau Career and Succession Planning are generally available immediately. Plateau Performance Appraisals and Plateau Goals Alignment will be available in fall 2005. All Plateau Learning products are generally available. Organizations can license all products as a single, integrated suite or separate modules. Plateau products can be provided as a hosted service or an onsite enterprise solution.

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.

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