SumTotal Talent Management Visionary to Speak at Bersin & Associates IMPACT Conference

SumTotal also receiving award for talent management excellence

Mountain View, CA – April 21, 2008 – SumTotal® Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMT), a global provider of learning, performance and talent management solutions, today announced that Sanjay Dholakia, SumTotal’s senior vice president and general manager for Learning and Talent Management, will be one of the featured speakers on an industry panel at Bersin & Associates’ inaugural conference, IMPACT 2008: The Business of Talent. The conference, scheduled for April 22-24 in St. Petersburg, FL., will provide insight and collaboration on enterprise learning and talent management.

During the opening keynote session on Wednesday, April 23, SumTotal will also be recognized as a 2007 Learning Leader winner by Bersin & Associates, in the category of “Initiative Excellence.” SumTotal’s award, which was based on the company’s two internal talent management and development programs, was recognized as an organization which has developed and implemented effective and efficient approaches to employee learning and development resulting in significant business improvement. Dawn Cassidy, senior director for talent management, will be accepting the award on her team’s behalf.

On Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at 3:45 pm, Sanjay Dholakia will participate with other industry executives on a one-hour panel titled, “Insights into Learning Management Systems.” The panel will offer insights into the direction of the industry and market trends, including customer feedback and trends, changing delivery models and convergence of learning management and talent management systems. Dholakia will join in the discussion on key points such as innovations happening in the marketing and how the LMS has become a critical part of a talent management solution.

SumTotal is a sponsor of the sold-out of the event, the first research conference on learning and talent management, with a table in the Demo Center. The conference agenda includes in-depth case studies from corporate innovators and thought-provoking panels addressing top issues. In addition, the Bersin & Associates analysts will present the latest research findings in areas such as learning on-demand, competency management, content development, and talent management systems. For more information, go to http://impact.bersin.com

Please contact Karen Ambrose Hickey, kahickey@sumtotalsystems.com or 650-930-4827 for more information or requests for interviews and meetings with Sanjay Dholakia or Dawn Cassidy.

About Bersin & Associates

Bersin & Associates is the only research and advisory services firm focused solely on research in enterprise learning and talent management. Bersin & Associates’ WhatWorks® research and research-based services are designed to deliver actionable direction and to help improve operational effectiveness and business impact.


Bersin & Associates research members gain access to a comprehensive library of best practices, case studies, benchmarks, and in-depth market analyses designed to guide professionals in making fast and confident decisions.  Research areas include planning and strategy, learning programs and delivery, talent management, technology and infrastructure, and measurement and analytics. Member benefits include in-depth advisory services, access to proprietary webcasts, on-site analyst visits, and strategic workshops. For more information, go to www.bersin.com or call 561 455 0622.  

About SumTotal Systems, Inc.

SumTotal Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMT) is a global provider of learning, performance and talent 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.

Safe Harbor Statement/ Forward-Looking Statements

Information in this press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the anticipated growth of the Company, its products and markets. 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; (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 2007 on Form 10-K filed on March 13, 2008, 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.