Further reinforcing its global reach, SkillSoft has negotiated a new partnership agreement in Russia with Noviy Disk, following on from its recent deal with Ambow in China.
In a multi-million dollar contract value agreement, Ambow will become SkillSoft's exclusive distributor to the Chinese business and government markets. SkillSoft and Ambow will partner to represent and offer SkillSoft's e-learning solutions and resources. The multi-year agreement will provide organisations with localised content and structure in simplified Chinese. Local support will also be provided, together with access to SkillSoft's award-winning IT courseware library; KnowledgeCentres; and its business skills and Environmental Safety & Health course collections.
The second deal will see SkillSoft's Russian library growing from 85 courses to more than 130 over the next 12 months. The courses are being localised in conjunction with SkillSoft's Russian partner, Noviy Disk - the leading developer, producer, publisher and distributor of software and games in the Russian-speaking territories.
Developed using SkillSoft's new technology - which has an increased emphasis on interactivity, audio and the quality of narration - the courseware is designed to help Russian speakers develop Microsoft Office 2007 desktop skills and build competences in soft business skills such as sales, marketing and communication.
Commenting on the deals, Kevin Young, Vice President and Managing Director of SkillSoft EMEA said:
"Given that the combined number of residents in China and Russia account for more than 22 per cent of the entire world's population - not including the many thousands of Chinese and Russian speakers living in other countries - it's not surprising that SkillSoft has chosen to make a significant investment in extending the product offering available in these languages".
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