FMDAY (Nasdaq .75/.78)
Ford Motor Company Selects Solstra to Deliver
Online Training to 20,000 Engineers Worldwide
ARUNDEL, England, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F - news) has purchased a 20,000 user
license for Solstra, the net-based learning and knowledge management system from British Telecommunications plc (NYSE:
BTY - news) and Futuremedia plc (Nasdaq: FMDAY - news).
Starting immediately, Solstra will be used by the Ford Design Institute (FDI), based in Michigan, USA, to deliver and manage
global training via the company intranet for up to 20,000 engineers. Futuremedia and BT will provide consultancy and
customization services for FDI for the duration of the two year contract.
By training online using Solstra, Ford's engineers located in North and South America, Europe and Australasia will have instant
and flexible access to consistent training materials and job support information, regardless of time zone or location. FDI will
also benefit from Solstra's facility for centralized updating and distribution of learning materials and its detailed management
overview of training in progress and completed.
The 20,000 user Solstra license follows the purchase of a 500 user license by Ford Motor Company's Education and Training
Division for Northern Europe, in April this year. Solstra has since been used to deliver Ford's QS-9000/Q1 quality standard
training course to employees and suppliers, and has been exposed to other Ford divisions with a view to extend its use by the
company internationally.
Roscoe Nash Jr., the US-based Dean of the Ford Design Institute said, ''We are at a critical stage in the transition of our
engineering training to online delivery. Having evaluated a number of potential management systems, we selected Solstra
because it provided us with the greatest level of flexibility and support, while meeting aggressive timing demands.''
Norman Burton, Futuremedia's Chief Executive Officer commented, ''We have been working in partnership with the Ford
Motor Company for many years. In particular, we have recently helped the Ford Design Institute develop their net-based
assessment and training modules. We are delighted that the FDI has selected Solstra to help them deliver and manage their
engineering training.''
Mick Durham, Product Manager for Solstra at BT, said, ''Solstra was launched nine months ago and has since created its own
market position as the complete solution for the delivery and management of learning online. Ford's decision to expand its use
of Solstra endorses its potential as the preferred learning technology for world class organizations.''
About BT
BT is one of the world's leading providers of telecommunications services. With a market capitalization in excess of 50 billion
British pounds sterling, it is one of the largest private sector companies in Europe.
Its principal activity is the supply of local, long distance and international telecommunications services and equipment in the UK,
serving 27 million exchange lines. International direct-dialed telephone service is available to more than 200 countries and other
overseas territories -- covering 99 per cent of the world's 800 million telephones.
BT is expanding its presence overseas rapidly and has operations in more than 30 countries world-wide, with joint ventures in
Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Switzerland and the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, New
Zealand, Japan and India.
About Futuremedia
Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Arundel, England, Futuremedia plc provides high quality, interactive multimedia
solutions to business worldwide. In addition to the company's proven multimedia experience in producing training programs on
CD-ROM, Futuremedia has grown into one of the largest and most experienced developers and producers of learning
products for the internet and intranet. For more information about Futuremedia, please visit the company's Web Site:
futuremedia.co.uk
About Solstra
BT and Futuremedia have jointly developed Solstra™, the first complete net-based learning and knowledge management
system. Solstra offers an open, flexible and highly convenient way to deliver training and manage knowledge via the Internet or
Intranet, and can be implemented under Windows NT, as well as Unix Solaris, interacting with both MS SQL and Oracle
databases.
The Solstra product offering consists of: Solstra Administrator™ -- a learning and knowledge management system, which can
be deployed in Internet, intranet or extranet environments; Solstra Developer™ -- a tool to enabling organizations to create
their own learning content; Solstra Poitfolio™ -- a portfolio of high quality on-line knowledge, training and productivity tools.
For more information, please contact www.solstra.com
Futuremedia can be found on the Worldwide Web at futuremedia.co.uk.
For further information contact the Sales & Marketing Team Futuremedia plc, Media House, Arundel Road, Walberton,
Arundel, West Sussex BN18 0QP, tel: +44-0-1243-555000, fax: +44-0-1243-555020 or e-mail: fm@futuremedia.co.uk.
This press release contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties, including statements about
Futuremedia's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. The forward-looking statements are also subject to risks set forth
in Futuremedia's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained herein
speak only as of the date of this release.
SOURCE: Futuremedia plc
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