SumTotal Social Learning Empowers Organizations with Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing Tools to Reduce Costs and Improve Workforce Effectiveness

GAINESVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SumTotal® Systems, Inc., the innovator in strategic Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions, today announced the latest release of SumTotal Social Learning, a rich, interactive platform that enables organizations to capture, share and strengthen the critical informal learning processes that complement and augment the traditional learning management systems (LMS). While typically 70 percent of training budgets is spent on formal learning, approximately 80 percent of what people actually learn is achieved on the job through informal learning. SumTotal is addressing the critical need for organizations to better contain costs while meeting the development needs of diverse global workforces.

SumTotal Social Learning empowers users beyond formal learning by providing a complete set of tools to collaborate and share knowledge focused around any desired topic or activity. From flexible learning communities to content libraries, discussion forums, blogs and content rating tools, SumTotal delivers a complete collaborative environment for all users across an organization. SumTotal Social Learning also provides users with a familiar, easy-to-use experience with all social tools embedded within their existing learning environment.

The trend towards more social learning is driven in part by the ever changing needs and demographics of the global workforce. Traditional learning systems are fundamental to key business processes and certification requirements. However, organizations can deliver greater business value by capturing and strengthening informal learning channels that are now a critical component of successful learning management initiatives.

"Key differentiation of our solution is that we provide an integrated environment for both formal and social contributed content. This enables our customers to have one place for all developmental knowledge and scale their learning initiatives with the collective intelligence of their global workforce," said Hardeep Gulati, Executive Vice President of Products at SumTotal. "Customers are increasingly leveraging our new innovations in social and mobile capabilities across their strategic human capital management processes to meet the needs of their new, demanding and multifaceted workforce, across all mediums of access, and realizing the significant cost benefits of an integrated solution."

SumTotal Social Learning enables organizations to:

• Leverage the deep, "tribal" knowledge already within an organization by enabling sharing of user generated content across different social network and communities within the organization
• Provide a richer, more interactive learning experience for all users through a complete suite of embedded social learning tools such as discussions, blogs, wikis and ratings
• Enables real-time sharing of all types of contents - video, podcasts, presentations and other types of documents
• Improve knowledge retention among users by fostering regular informal learning between peers and experts both within the organization and in its extended enterprise
• Accelerate new employee on-boarding with single source details in familiar social interface
• Deliver rapid access to all classic and social learning content through a powerful united search technology, as well as a rating system that lets users easily find well reviewed activities
• Simplify and reduces administrative efforts with configurable communities, monitor-driven threads and approval workflows
• Reduce content development costs by leveraging user-contributed content and developing shared discussion threads with instructors

SumTotal Social Learning is available today. For more information about SumTotal, visit the company's website at www.sumtotalsystems.com.

About SumTotal Systems

SumTotal Systems, Inc. is the global leader in strategic Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions that provide organizations with a new level of visibility to help make more informed business decisions and accelerate growth. Recognized by industry analysts as the most complete solution, SumTotal provides full employee lifecycle management, including a core system of record, from a single provider for improved business intelligence. The company offers customers of all sizes and industries the most flexibility and choice with multiple purchase, configuration, and deployment options. We have increased the performance of the world's largest organizations including Sony Electronics (NYSE: SNE), AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN [ADR]; London: AZN), Amway (KUL:AMWAY), Seagate (NYSE: STX), Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG).

For more information, or to request a demo, please call +1 (866) 768-6825 (US / Canada), +1 (352) 264-2800 (international) or visit www.sumtotalsystems.com.

SumTotal and the SumTotal logo, are registered trademarks or trademarks of SumTotal Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Contacts

SumTotal Systems
Karen Northon, +1-352-519-3004
knorthon@sumtotalsystems.com