Today, Oracle announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Global Knowledge Software LLC ("GKS"), a division of Global Knowledge, Inc. and a leading provider of self-service training automation software. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2008. Until the deal closes, each company will continue to operate independently.

GKS’s products, which include Personal Navigator, Knowledge Pathways and Presenter, improve end-user competency through simulated end-user transaction training and testing, as well as through auto-generated step-by-step transaction processing instructions. GKS’s user productivity capabilities extend Oracle’s training solutions to provide just-in-time, web-based training support for users of any enterprise application.

The combination with GKS is a logical next step to a successful, long-standing partnership. GKS’s Personal Navigator product is currently a core component of Oracle’s User Productivity Kit (UPK) product, and is currently supporting more than 2,000 Oracle customers.

The combination of GKS products, Oracle Tutor, and Oracle’s learning management software, iLearning and eLearning, is intended to provide customers a comprehensive, end-to-end enterprise solution for creating and deploying business process documentation, interactive system training, and just-in-time support available within the applications. Oracle plans to provide pre-built training content modules across all of Oracle’s application products, with content available now for the E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft and JD Edwards applications. Customers will have access to a single solution for end-user training and process documentation that can support all Oracle and non-Oracle applications across their enterprise. By including this solution as a part of any application implementation or upgrade project, customers are expected to speed the time to productivity for their application users.

After the close of the transaction, Oracle partners are expected to benefit from working with a single vendor to provide a complete solution — from process flows to business procedures to system training — accelerating the implementation timelines and ROI that partners can deliver to customers. Partners can take advantage of Oracle's worldwide resources and enablement through the Oracle PartnerNetwork program.

We look forward to providing our customers a comprehensive applications training solution for their businesses. To learn more about the proposed combination of Oracle and GKS, please visit oracle.com/gks.

We appreciate your continued support.

Sincerely,
 
Judson Althoff
Group Vice President, Worldwide Alliances and Channels
Oracle

The above is for informational purposes only and may not be incorporated into a contract.