March 1, 2001

 

 

NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) announced today that it has concluded a license contract with Israel-based InterWise, Ltd., a leading developer of B-to-B Internet-based educational software. Today’s move will enable NTT Com to gain entry into the promising “eLearning^*1” market. NTT Com, with the use of InterWise’s software, will provide ASP services to support effective corporate education and distance learning.

Also, the two companies will jointly promote eLearning services based on InterWise’s technology in order to develop the market in Japan.

Background

The information technology (IT) revolution has made skilled human resources a crucial corporate asset and to this end, various training courses have been sought in order to nurture employees’ technical and management skills. Also, manufacturers must be able to effectively share information with their sales personnel and agencies in order to deal with ever-shortening product cycles and frequent product upgrades. For education service providers, providing new and effective methods of education, such as distance learning, will become increasingly important for them to attract new customers.

Under such circumstances, the eLearning market, which relies on the personal computer and the Internet, can be expected to grow even more rapidly, offering an effective alternative to conventional group education/training methods.

Future ASP Service Development

By combining low-cost broadband telecom infrastructure with InterWise’s software platform, such as the Millennium^*2, NTT Com will launch an ASP service for business-to-business live eLearning from the second quarter of fiscal 2001 (between April and June). The service, tentatively dubbed eLesson Square, will use VoIP technology and support corporations with training and distance learning. Also, eLesson Square will be offered at low rates and will be simple to use.

About InterWise, Ltd.

Established	:	1994
Headquarters	:	Tel Aviv, ISRAEL
Branch offices	:	U.S.A., France, U.K., Switzerland, Japan, Singapore
CEO	:	Hillel Kobrinsky
Shares	:	Not offered
Employees	:	237
Businesses	:	Development and sales of software and services that support distance learning. Highly regarded worldwide, InterWise products are used for eLearning and enterprise solutions for internal employees and external customers.
URL	:	http://www.Interwise.com
Inquiries	:	InterWise Japan Office Horiuchi Tadashi +81 (3) 5408-1131
Notes: *1 eLearning: General business term describing Internet-based education and training. *2 InterWise Millennium: Name of software provided by InterWise to realize live lectures via the Internet.

Attachment:
ASP Service for eLearning Example: Registration for a seminar