Just got back from the AGM! Must say their management team did a good job in explaining their direction as Calian Corp. evolves into a unique company with a mix of competencies for the fast moving times. Obviously some of us had difficulty understanding their various involvement in businesses as the classical division of labor, knowledge and other resources does not apply. One simply has to remove those borders to appreciate their services or is it businesses! The management team's replies and explanations during the question & answer session was well  received and added to our understanding. They definitely know their stuff, that's the most important part. 
  This is the latest news release: 
                         CALIAN TO ACQUIRE LEARNING-PORTAL.COM AND THE                        OTTAWA FRANCHISE OF PRODUCTIVITY POINT                        INTERNATIONAL 
                         Kanata, Ontario Thursday, March 23, 2000 - 
                         Calian is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement in principle to                        acquire Learning-Portal.com and Productivity Point International Ottawa , (PPI                        Ottawa Inc).
                         Learning-Portal.com is a leading global provider of client driven corporate                        learning portals that encompass a diverse range of solutions, products and                        services, which are provided in collaboration with industry acclaimed partners.                        Productivity Point International Ottawa Inc., headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario,                        is a franchise of Productivity Point International Inc. of Raleigh, N.C. PPI                        provides customised technology learning solutions to corporations and IT                        professionals.
                         Each year Productivity Point teaches more than one million knowledge workers                        at all skill levels to fully leverage their abilities in areas like local area networks,                        client/server computing, applications development, and system migration. PPI's                        portfolio includes:
                              more than 100 locations throughout North America;                              more than 700 courses crossing many technology disciplines;                              customized learning solutions for business clients;                              one of Microsoft's largest Certified Technical Education Center (CTEC)                             training partners;                              strategic partnerships and alliances with industry leaders like Microsoft,                             Novell, MindQ, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Inacom, Lotus; and                              over 1,000 highly motivated, trained instructors 
                         "This merger combines the IT training technologies and capabilities of                        Learning-Portal.com and PPI Ottawa Inc. with the e-learning and e-business                        services of Calian, to provide our clients with a fully integrated                        business-to-employee enterprise portal," stated Howard Sures, President and                        CEO of PPI.
                         The companies have signed a number of contracts including:
                              a significant e-learning contract with a major Canadian university to                             provide information technology certification courses over the internet;                              a $3.5M US contract for IT certification and internet-based training with a                             leading systems integrator; and                              Super-supplier status for all IT training for a major telecommunications                             company.
                         "As part of Calian's overall Business-to-Employee (B2E) service offering, these                        acquisitions will extend Calian's e-learning capability from a "Clicks" business
                         model to a "Clicks and Bricks" environment designed to better serve our global                        clients combining PPI's assets with Calian's proven track record in e-learning                        development and the outsourcing of training programs", said Larry O'Brien,                        Calian's President & CEO. He went on to say, "These additions to our e-learning                        services will provide us with a nine-month head start in the provision of employee                        facing Learning Portal Services. The acquisition also provides a direct channel to                        Fortune 1000 companies representing millions of employees for B2E services."
                         Calian Technology Ltd. sells e-business and Information Technology (IT)                        professional services, including management consulting, IT consulting,                        Telecommunications systems engineering, outsourcing and IT staffing. |