SumTotal Systems, the industry’s largest provider of learning and business performance technologies, services and processes, today announced that it has expanded its global presence into Korea with new partner COSMO iNET, that country’s leading e-learning provider. COSMO iNET will resell SumTotal’s award-winning technology as a core component of the learning solutions it provides to enterprises and educational institutions in this fast-growing market.
COSMO iNET has provided online learning solutions, training and implementation and integration services since the inception of the Korean e-learning industry around 1997. Driven by a government initiative to encourage e-learning adoption nationwide, and an advanced, national broadband network, the market has expanded to nearly $87million, with anticipated growth of 57% in 2004 alone.
In July, the Korean government introduced a special law on the development of e-learning businesses, supporting the online learning industry in becoming one of the nation’ core industries.
Under the law, representatives from eight ministries, including the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Human Resources & Education, the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Planning and Budget, will set up a committee for developing the e-learning industry. As part of its development initiative, the committee will encourage state-funded educational organizations to raise the e-learning ratio of their total educational programs to 20 percent. The government also will promote the corporate e-learning market.
To capitalize on the market potential, COSMO iNET needs to provide its customers with a scalable learning management framework that can track individual learning activities and completion of mandated training. Following an extensive evaluation of learning technology providers, COSMO iNET chose SumTotal for its industry leadership and experience; strategic business practices and substantial product roadmap; global presence and multi-language capability; and its flexible product architecture, which enables organizations to meet specific requirements established by the Korean government. COSMO iNET will make SumTotal’s TotalLMS, TotalLCMS and TotalDashboard analytics module the foundation of the learning solutions it provides to Korean corporations and universities.
“The Korean government is committed to e-learning as the core strategy for education renovation and national human resource development in our country, making it critical for both enterprises and educational institutions to acquire the best technologies to help address that mandate,” said Ho-Joon Lee, Ph.D., CEO of COSMO iNET. “We anticipate that the combination of SumTotal’s industry-leading technology solutions and COSMO iNET’s strong sales and services capabilities will create a powerful, new force in the Korean e-learning market.”
“As an innovator and pioneer in its country’s learning industry, COSMO iNET shares a history similar to SumTotal’s and represents an ideal partner for our entry into the Korean market,” said R. Andrew Eckert, SumTotal CEO. “It is uncommon to have a situation where both the government and private sectors unanimously and enthusiastically support and pursue technology-based learning initiatives. We are excited by the opportunity to work with COSMO iNET to meet such a widespread need and to grow our global marketshare with the addition of this vital market.”
