Business/Technology Editors

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 15, 2001

Oracle, Global Knowledge, CSK Corporation, and Macnica Form

`eLearning Initiative Group' to Speed Delivery of Critical IT

and Job Skills to Japanese Companies over the Internet

Centra (NASDAQ: CTRA), the world's leading provider of software infrastructure and ASP services for eLearning and collaboration, today announced the formation of an eLearning Initiative Group (eIG) to accelerate the adoption of eLearning and collaboration within corporations across Japan and to respond to growing market demand for advanced IT skills. The eIG alliance, comprised of Oracle Corporation, Global Knowledge, CSK Corporation, and Macnica, Centra's exclusive distribution partner in Japan, will underpin its offerings with Centra's real-time collaboration platform to deliver hands-on IT training on database management, network administration, and operating systems.

"This alliance represents an important step forward in the widespread deployment of eLearning in Japan," said Steve Thomas, Centra's Director of Sales for the Asia-Pacific Region. "It will enable Centra, through Macnica, to expand our reach exponentially to a wide range of customers, and leverage the learning content, courses, and expertise of eIG participants to provide powerful, integrated eLearning solutions to the Japanese market."

Partners in the eIG initiative will work closely to ensure seamless integration of content and cooperate to increase awareness through joint sales and marketing initiatives. Today, dozens of Japanese companies have already deployed Centra's solutions in Japan, including NTT-IT, Nikko Securities, NEC, Kissei Pharmaceuticals, Sony, Dainippon Screen and DENTSU University.

Software Infrastructure for eLearning and Collaboration

Used by more than 675 companies, government agencies, and universities worldwide, Centra's enterprise products and services are based on CentraOne(TM), a robust and extensible thin-client architecture for eLearning and collaboration. By leveraging the core capabilities of the Web-based CentraOne platform, Centra is the only company to offer a full range of knowledge delivery and management solutions - from live, voice-enabled virtual classrooms, Web conferences and online meetings to powerful products for content management, personalized eLearning, and standards-compliant authoring - all on a single platform. Through this integrated environment, organizations can increase the overall effectiveness of their eLearning initiatives, targeting the appropriate mix of live and self-paced learning formats and activities for each audience or strategic business task.

About Macnica

Macnica, Inc. is one of the leading high tech distributors and representatives in Japan, concentrating on advanced electronic components and equipment. Macnica enjoys close business relationships with all the major electronics manufacturers and is widely recognized as the reliable source for electronic products in Japan. Macnica has sales offices in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and San Jose, CA.

For more information, visit www.macnica.co.jp.

About Centra

With more than 1.7 million users, Centra is the world's leading provider of software infrastructure and ASP services for eLearning and business collaboration. Today hundreds of global organizations have standardized on Centra for the delivery of live eLearning, including Accenture, Century 21, Domino's Pizza, EMC Corporation, McKessonHBOC, Nationwide Insurance, Siemens, Stanford University, and Procter & Gamble. Centra supports a vital ecosystem of strategic eLearning partnerships, which include alliances with Microsoft, PricewaterhouseCoopers, EDS, Cisco, Oracle, HP Europe, Deloitte Consulting, Saba, Docent and Global Knowledge. Headquartered in Boston's technology corridor, the Company has sales offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.centra.com.