Amdahl, Fujitsu and Peritas form strategic alliance to create KnowledgePool(TM); world's largest commercial technology education group.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 1995--Amdahl Corporation (AMEX:AMH) today announced the creation of KnowledgePool, a new technology education group formed as a result of a strategic alliance joining Fujitsu Learning Media of Japan and U.K.-based Peritas with Amdahl Education.

The partners in this $165 million global consortium will combine resources to develop new educational products to serve an expanding multibillion dollar IT education and training market. The creation of KnowledgePool is the latest example of Amdahl's commitment to delivering to its customers the finest IT solutions available in the industry today.

KnowledgePool offers a comprehensive range of industry-standard technology learning programs on a global scale. Multinational companies will now be able to receive customized world class training solutions through extensive distance learning programs and consultancy. The group's training portfolio fulfills a broad range of requirements from fast-track retraining in changing technologies like client-server/open systems and rapid applications development (RAD) to "information superhighway" data services. Solutions developed to date have included programs such as airline cabin crew and prison officer training and sales training for a major car company.

"The expansion of Amdahl's education capabilities through this global consortium is yet another example of our company's commitment to extending data center values across the enterprise," said George Purnell, vice president and general manager of Amdahl Education. "In addition to Amdahl offering the best available hardware and software solutions to fulfill our customers' needs, KnowledgePool allows us to provide them with the world's finest IT education programs."

As a charter member of the computer Education Management Association (CEdMA), Amdahl supports international standards in computer-based and multimedia training.

Douglas Thomas, president of CEdMA, and director of education at Novell, Inc., said, "It is clear that the industry's private sector must be poised and ready to deliver what is missing in traditional institutions of learning -- a hybrid of advanced solutions and technology-based learning tools. Continually advancing knowledge and skills make a critical difference for the worldwide players in business and industry."

Expanding global training market

The current U.S. information technology (IT) training market is over $6 billion and is expected to reach $12.1 billion by 1999 (IDC). The current worldwide market is $13 billion expected to grow to $22 billion by 1999.

Fast-track retraining begins May 1

Fast-track short courses are designed for skilled professionals moving from a mainframe base to such new areas as RAD, object- oriented systems, C++, PC networks, UNIX, client/server, and Windows. Amdahl will start delivery in May 1995 of twelve fast-track courses at the Columbia, Maryland Education Center and at customer sites.

IDC identifies market

In December 1994, market research firm IDC reported "a viable market opportunity for retraining MVS professionals across a variety of technology areas." Almost 75% of the IT professionals surveyed reported a need for retraining on UNIX operating systems. They further reported a strong preference for retraining from a provider experienced in the mainframe environment.

Consortium members

Fujitsu Learning Media, part of Fujitsu Limited, specializes in personnel development and multimedia (note recent air crew training for the new Boeing 747/700.) Peritas, a wholly owned subsidiary of ICL, recently delivered training to over 35,000 retailers in preparation for the U.K. National Lottery; it has also delivered a multimedia training program for the Scottish prison system.

With Amdahl, the consortium members estimate their range of products and services will train over 250,000 customers worldwide in 1995 and that revenue over that same period will be about $165 million.

Amdahl Education

Since 1978, Amdahl Education has delivered application-specific training to businesses, providing the knowledge they need to excel. Over 70,000 students from over 2,000 companies have acquired the highly specialized skills of the expert practitioner from Amdahl in 25 countries on four continents.

Amdahl Corporation (AMEX:AMH) is a major supplier of large scale mainframe computers, UNIX systems software and servers, data storage subsystems, data communications products, applications development software, and a variety of educational and consulting services. Amdahl products are sold in more than 30 countries for use across all types of computing environments.

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Note to Editors: Amdahl and the Amdahl logo are registered trademarks of Amdahl Corporation. KnowledgePool is a trademark jointly owned by Amdahl Corporation, Fujitsu Learning Media, Limited and Peritas Limited. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Limited.

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