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Most Comprehensive e-Learning Survey of Financial Services Sector to Date

Dublin, Ireland - July 9th, 2004 - WBT Systems, the leading provider of knowledge solutions to the Financial Services industry, today published the foremost benchmarking report on e-learning in this sector. The report is the culmination of a major research project that involved the top 150 Banks, Insurance companies and other Financial Service providers across the UK, US and Central Europe. Focusing on key areas of best practice, WBT investigated how e-learning is being deployed by global financial institutions and what key lessons can be learnt thus far.

“We had heard anecdotal evidence that e-learning was falling short of expectations” explained Sheena Bailey, VP of Financial Services Solutions “yet with our own customers we have seen e-learning programs realise exceptional results not only in terms of Return on Investment (ROI) but as the catalyst for exponential revenue and productivity growth”. Keen to explore the reasons behind this, WBT surveyed over 200 professionals on key areas of best practice in e-learning and the results of this survey are published in today’s benchmarking report.

The survey found that although there is a mixed reaction to e-learning overall the majority of participants in the study were satisfied with the success of their e-learning programs. On closer analysis, the report revealed that where dissatisfaction exists there are discernable reasons to explain it. However, more interestingly, where a satisfaction rating was given, it was done so in many cases despite serious shortcomings in the application and use of e-learning. In this respect, the results offer a valuable insight for those who are considering a first-time purchase of e-learning or those who would like to get more out of their current programs.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Duncan Lennox, Chief Technology Officer said, “e-Learning is particularly suited to address key business issues facing the financial services sector such as regulatory compliance, distributed sales channels and customer services. But the e-learning industry is relatively young and in some cases applications are still been sold as point solutions or as a vehicle to launch a specific piece of courseware”. He went on to add, “The report clearly highlights that those organisations that follow best practice and use e-learning to achieve their strategic goals are gaining competitive advantage over their rivals. Many organisations are under the impression that this requires a big up front investment but at WBT we don’t see it that way and, in fact, our core philosophy is built around a bottom-up, leveraged investment”.

In response to the extraordinary interest shown in the report, WBT Systems will be hosting a web-based discussion forum based on the results of the survey, entitled "e-Learning Best Practices for Financial Services” on July 28th. This event will take a closer look at how e-learning and knowledge management can address the numerous challenges facing financial services organisations (for more information see www.wbtsystems.com).

About WBT Systems

WBT is a leading provider of intelligent solutions for the Financial Services industry. With an established Financial Services Practice that works in partnership with customers, its solutions help Financial Institutions to capitalise on new revenue and market opportunities by enabling knowledge delivery throughout a globally dispersed workforce and customer base.

WBT is one of only four companies to be rated as a leader in both Gartner’s 2004 Learning Management Systems (LMS) and e-Learning Suite Magic Quadrants, and is the only leader to specialise in Financial Services.

Established in 1995, WBT Systems is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with offices in the US, Canada, UK, Germany and the Netherlands. For more information, see www.wbtsystems.com.

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