SmartForce and Docent form e-learning alliance

Smartforce and Docent have formed a strategic partnership to develop a comprehensive Web-based learning management system. Under the agreement, SmartForce will embed advanced learning management capabilities developed by Docent into the SmartForce e-learning platform.

Each company will contribute technologies to the project and work jointly on the development effort. Docent's learning management functionality will be offered as part of the SmartForce outsourced, externally hosted e-learning environment and is available for enterprises hosting their own intranet. The solution will be marketed by SmartForce's 400 person sales force in 35 countries around the world.

Docent learning management capabilities to be embedded into the SmartForce platform include the ability to track and manage the competencies of an enterprise's work force, allowing learning strategies to be specifically targeted to identified skill gaps in the enterprise. Further, the alliance gives Smartforce the ability to manage instructor-led training.

The resulting SmartForce platform:

• Supports tracking and management of learning events ranging from e-learning to instructor-led training, across vendors and technologies;

• provides the wide range of e-learning events, from instructional material, to Internet-enabled collaboration, to role-play and simulations, to advanced Web-based assessment;

• gives enterprises the tools to create, publish and manage learning events targeted specifically to the company and its business objectives;

• allows enterprises to create and modify custom learning paths through any combination of SmartForce enterprise-specific or third-party learning events, targeted to the specific requirements of individual learners; and

• supports an enterprise's ability to create competency profiles of the skills in its work force, to develop learning plans targeted to addressing those goals, and to assess the success of the program in narrowing the enterprise's skill gaps.