SumTotal Systems, the industry’s largest provider of learning and business performance technologies, services and processes, today announced the formal launch of the beta testing program for the SumTotal Enterprise Suite 7.0, the highly-anticipated next edition of the company’s market leading learning and business performance platform. Industry leaders Pfizer, Symantec, Seagate, Bechtel, Baker Hughes, Mercury, US Army Training Support Command, Wachovia, Motorola and Starwood Hotels and Resorts are among the first of SumTotal’s enterprise customers to use and test version 7.0, due for full market release during the upcoming quarter.

Providing unparalleled breadth in application and depth in business functionality, the SumTotal Enterprise Suite 7.0 will be the industry’s most comprehensive, scalable learning and business performance offering, and the only one to combine learning management, learning content management, in-depth analytics and other mission-critical learning applications on a single, integrated platform. The SumTotal Enterprise Suite 7.0 promises more flexible, rapid, strategic delivery and management of learning activities; unprecedented options for measuring learning impact on revenues, expenses, cycle time and other business results; and unique interoperability and integration capabilities that dramatically reduce the cost of ownership.

Participants in the SumTotal 7.0 beta program have been asked to evaluate a number of the new product innovations that SumTotal expects will set the suite apart from all other offerings on the market. Among them are:Dynamic Administration, radically changing the ease of managing user organizations, reporting, and certifcationsOpen Activity Architecture (OAA), revolutionary new functionality that allows for streamlined management of blended learning, learning plans and coursesIntegration Framework and Web Services, offering unprecedented interoperability and integration with other technology applications and infrastructures
“We are delighted that these clients have chosen to participate in this important phase of bringing SumTotal 7.0 to market,” said R. Andrew Eckert, SumTotal CEO. “Over the past eight months, we have spent time gathering feedback from more than 400 customers during the product planning process. We believe that this final stage of validation is essential to delivering a product that best meets their specific needs. We are confident that the efforts of these clients will help us deliver another industry-leading solution.”