On August 30, 2001--SmartForce announced yet another acquisition with an agreement to acquire SkillScape, a key player in the competency management arena. This deal is due to be finalised during third quarter 2001.
eLearnity Comment :
With their recent sequence of acquisitions, SmartForce is assembling one of the strongest enterprise platforms for e-learning. The addition of the SkillScape competency management system, significantly strengthens their capabilities in the corporate learning management arena, particularly following the acquisition of icGlobal announced in April this year. SkillScape also brings along a well-established corporate client base including American Express, American Airlines, Motorola and Nortel, to name but a few. This further consolidates SmartForce's move from a primarily content-driven business model to becoming a fully-fledged learning integrator. It also further raises the stakes in the enterprise e-learning business.
In addition, the acquisition of SkillsScape is likely to have major repercussions for the other LMS vendors, most of which have used components of SkillScape to add value to their own offerings. We expect to see a significant realignment in approach to competency management from many of the other vendors in response. This could include changing alliances or further acquisitions to remain competitive.
Overall, a smart move for SmartForce.
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