SumTotal Gives HR Pros Way to Rapidly Deploy Performance Management Software

Mountain View, Calif. – October 11, 2007 – SumTotal® Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMT), a global provider of talent and learning management solutions, has launched ResultsOnDemand (TM) – Performance for HR professionals who want to rapidly deploy software that either builds or manages systems for employee performance and compensation.

“Whether you’re looking to automate performance appraisals for the first time or apply technology to inspire the way you currently assess your talent, ResultsOnDemand provides an easy-to-use, intuitive interface for employees and employers,” said Jon Ciampi, SumTotal’s vice president and general manager for OnDemand Solutions. “ResultsOnDemand offers HR pros a way to manage employee appraisals, goals, succession planning and compensation.”

As reported by IDC in research titled “Worldwide Workforce Performance Management 2007 – 2011 Forecast,” 59 percent of respondents to a survey about performance management processes noted that they either rely on a paper-based system for things like succession planning and employee appraisals or have no system in place at all.

“Clearly, many HR pros have the need for a better way to do business,” said Ciampi. “So we’ve introduced a product with performance appraisal workflows that mirror the best practices of hundreds of employers.”

ResultsOnDemand – Performance is SumTotal’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for analyzing performance over the Internet. SumTotal’s rapid-deployment performance product includes:

• a module that gives employers web-based performance appraisals that turn annual reviews into a quick-and-easy daily – or weekly – activity,


• goals management with a cascading structure that shows how an employee’s aims marry up with an employer’s business objectives,


• tools for allowing peers, supervisors and direct reports to offer feedback on someone’s performance,


• systems for evaluating talent pools and paths for succession planning,


• a module for managing pay, including merit increases and bonuses, and


• a sophisticated synchronization technology, which users tap to access the system either on-line or off-line. 

“ResultsOnDemand can quickly become the foundation for an HR team that wants to put in place a process for managing employee performance, or it’s flexible enough to map to the way an organization already evaluates employee performance,” said Ciampi. “Either way, this new SaaS offering spells two things: first, speedy implementations and second, continuously applied enhancements, instead of periodically applied improvements over a long release cycle.”

About SumTotal Systems, Inc.
SumTotal Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMT) is a global provider of talent and learning management solutions. SumTotal deploys mission-critical solutions designed to align goals, develop skills, assess performance, plan for succession and set compensation. SumTotal’s solutions aim to accelerate performance and profits for more than 1,500 companies and governments of all sizes, including six of the world’s 10 biggest pharmaceutical makers, six of the 10 largest automotive companies in the world, four of the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, three of the world’s top five airlines, five of the six largest U.S. commercial banks and two of the world’s top five specialty retailers. Mountain View, Calif.-based SumTotal has offices across Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. For more information about SumTotal's products and services, visit www.sumtotalsystems.com.

SumTotal, the SumTotal logo, and ResultsOnDemand are registered trademarks or trademarks of SumTotal Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement/ Forward-Looking Statements
Information in this press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the anticipated benefits, results and performance of SumTotal's products and solutions, such as ResultsOnDemand and the potential growth and market for performance management products. These statements represent SumTotal’s expectations or beliefs concerning future events. These statements are not historical facts or guarantees of future performance or events and are based on current expectations, estimates, beliefs, assumptions, goals and objectives, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by these statements. Readers of this press release are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to: (i) unknown errors or bugs in SumTotal's software solutions, including without limitation ResultsOnDemand; (ii) the acceptance of SumTotal's software suite and future product offerings; (iii) the ability to successfully manage and increase growth, both within and outside of the United States, significant current and expected additional competition, and the need to continue to expand product distribution and services offerings; (iv) the actual demand and growth of the market for performance management products and services; (v) the inability to fix in a timely fashion unanticipated bugs, errors or defects that materially impact the functionality or usability of SumTotal's software; (vi) the ability to successfully implement SumTotal’s solutions in the future; (vii) the ability to successfully address technological developments and standards; and (viii) other events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in SumTotal’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's annual report for fiscal year 2006 on Form 10-K filed on March 16, 2007, its quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on August 7, 2007, its Prospectus Supplement filed on Form 424B2 filed on May 21, 2007, Form S-3/As filed on September 28, 2006, and October 2, 2006, and its Form 8-Ks. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are made as the date of this news release, and SumTotal does not assume any obligation to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.