ARUNDEL, U.K., March 20, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Futuremedia Plc (Nasdaq:FMDAY) today announces that BUPA, the global health and care organisation with more than 7 million members in 190 countries and with a worldwide staff of 40,000, has entered into a 3-year contract for the provision learning management system, hosting services and software integration to an existing PeopleSoft HR system. The contract will enable the organisation to train all 2,500 employees in its UK Insurance division via e-Learning, as well as manage traditional training courses and library materials.
Employees in the sales, service and support divisions will be encouraged to take ownership of their learning and development to make a positive impact on the service they offer customers.
Phil Knight, BUPA's head of development and training, explains, "BUPA values its employees highly and takes their development seriously. We are continually reviewing and enhancing our learning provision and have selected Futuremedia as our e-Learning partner for its record in managing large-scale e-Learning programmes and focus on service and complete solutions. To maximise the benefits of the learning management system and e-Learning platform, we are now refining our e-Learning strategy with Futuremedia to ensure that our people use the soft skill courses offered to increase their own potential. E-Learning is a rapid way of training employees who work over a wide geographical space, which has already proved to be a particularly effective way of rolling out new product information to our sales people."
Mats Johansson, Chief Executive Officer at Futuremedia, added "BUPA has a well deserved reputation for investing in its people and has created a strong sense of being a great-place-to-work. It is now embarking on the next phase of smartly using e-Learning to provide an even better learning provision closely linked to both key business goals and individual aspirations. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to work with BUPA to make plans reality."
About Futuremedia
Futuremedia plc (est 1983) is a Solutions Provider in the growing e-learning market with 20 years experience in the interactive media field supplying products and services to industrial and commercial business sectors and government, mainly in the UK and Continental Europe.
The Company has a proven track record in providing knowledge and training via Solstra, its proprietary Learning Management System which in its largest application has a capacity for 240,000 users.
Incorporated within its principal operation headquartered in the UK, Futuremedia's Professional Services team identify and specify client requirements and Futuremedia's Content Studio then design and develop custom content for clients' needs. The Futuremedia Library unit specifies and administers any content required from its comprehensive range of third party products. The Solstra Team deploy Futuremedia's own Learning Management System enabling training to be rapidly administered, delivered and progress tracked.
Futuremedia's customers include Royal Mail, Ford Motor Company and BT. Training content from partners SmartForce, Centra Software, SkillSoft and NETg is supplied and supported.
Futuremedia can be found on the Web at http://www.futuremedia.co.uk
About BUPA
Set up in 1947, BUPA is a broad-based health and care organisation with a growing international presence. It has more than seven million customers in 190 countries and 40,000 employees. Its main interests are health insurance, hospitals, care services for the elderly and young disabled, health assessments, workplace health and childcare services. It also provides recruitment services for healthcare professionals and has a network of nurseries for the children of working parents. www.bupa.com
This press release contains forward-looking statements related to future results and speaks only of the Company's expectations as of the date hereof. Such statements include discussions concerning the Company's financial performance and strategic direction. Such statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The risks and uncertainties include general market uncertainty due to political and economic circumstances, the early stage of the Internet and intranet learning and communications market, the management of growth, the ability of the Company to develop and successfully market new products, rapid technological change and competition, and other factors detailed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in expectations or in information on which any such statement is based. All product names and trademarks mentioned herein are trademarks of Futuremedia or their respective owners.
Press information: Kay Phelps, The PR Department for Futuremedia, kay.phelps@btinternet.com; M: +44 7710 043244;
Investor relations queries: Mats Johansson, CEO or ir@futuremedia.co.uk; T: +44 1243 555000
BUPA: Anne Marie Cooklin, BUPA Corporate Communications, cooklina@bupa.com; T: +44 7656 2084