Lotus, PTS Forge Partnership
Computer Reseller News, August 14, 1995

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Responding to the requests of some of its key corporate accounts, Lotus Education forged a partnership with PTS Learning Systems in which the courseware developer will create text-based training materials for Lotus' full desktop applications, including those soon to be released for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 95.

North Reading-based Lotus Education's pact with PTS, King of Prussia, PA., is intended to ensure a more consistent training and education package for Lotus' communications products like Notes and cc:Mail as well as such desktop applications including Lotus 1-2-3, said Linda Kennedy, manager of the developer's desktop training programs.

Lotus named PTS as the developer of its new, standardized education courseware after a six-month bidding process including an unspecified number of other Lotus Authorized Education Centers (LAECs), added Terri Purinton, Lotus Education's marketing manager.

"We develop curricula for Notes and cc:Mail but have been out of the desktop training arena for quite some time. PTS provided the kind of flexibility and met our stringent criteria for such a partnership on our desktop product suite," Purinton said.

Patricia Roberts, PTS' president said, "Our curriculum development, task-based methodologies are consistent with Lotus Education's methodologies," thereby ensuring a consistent worldwide education program addressing Lotus' communications products and desktop applications.

From a strategic standpoint, John Rooney, vice president of PTS' Products Division, said the agreement solidifies his company's status as one of the three LAECs developing courseware for Lotus. "It immediately enables us to offer courseware through Lotus's existing channel," he said.

As it continues work on SmartSuite for Windows 95 courseware as well on training packages for Lotus WordPro for Windows 3.1, currently available Lotus-PTS SmartSuite offerings are offered in book, disk and customizable disk formats. A compiling tool that enables user to extract and edit parts of the courseware is included.

Apart from its desktop applications agreement with PTS, Lotus continues to mull possible certification programs for its SmartSuite applications, particularly for technical professionals, Kennedy said. "That would be the first and foremost objective."

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