WestLake Training and Development Expands Offerings and Improves Bottom Line With Saba Centra OnDemand

Saba (NASDAQ:SABA), the premier Human Capital Management (HCM) software and services provider, announced that WestLake Training and Development, Washington, DC, is using Saba Centra OnDemand to improve both the accessibility and profitability of its training offerings for web and enterprise applications development. Over the past few years, Saba Centra OnDemand has helped WestLake Training shift its business model from almost exclusively in-classroom, public web development training to a more flexible web-based, instructor-led online learning experience for both public courses and dedicated training designed for specific companies. "Most businesses simply can’t afford to send all their people to one location or to take one or more people out of the office for days at a time,” said Mark Rogers, president of WestLake Training and Development. "Centra OnDemand creates a virtual classroom that gives instructor-led training scale, so we can better overcome these obstacles and meet the needs of additional people by offering a very effective way to learn.” "Saba Centra OnDemand allows a company like WestLake to deliver a world-class learning environment to its thousands of public learners/users with minimal IT staff and no up-front investment,” said Cary Fulbright, Vice President and General Manager of Saba OnDemand. "In addition, OnDemand will let them efficiently scale their business as it grows.” With Saba Centra OnDemand, WestLake’s clients can take part in a fully interactive, instructor-led training experience over the Internet. Course attendees have access to a variety of tools, including an interactive white board, PowerPoint presentations, polling and other forms of simulated feedback, such as laughter and applause, and even chat-based "breakout” rooms. The result is Saba Centra OnDemand delivers quality online learning without the cost and impact on productivity associated with travel. Building the Business WestLake Training is literally building its business by offering public classes supported by Saba Centra OnDemand. Students anywhere in the world can register either for a particular classroom location or for WestLake’s virtual classroom. With physical "brick-and-mortar” classes, a minimum number of students are required to make each course economically viable. But with Saba Centra OnDemand, the breakeven threshold for virtual classes is much lower, allowing WestLake to offer more public classes than ever before. WestLake Training has also used Saba Centra OnDemand to provide other learning innovations. For example, Jam Sessions, WestLake Training’s blended online technical training, starts with a two-hour virtual lecture followed by a number of labs and self-study modules to be completed over a four-day period. Each course concludes with a one-hour recitation. In approximately a half-day of live online training, and a few additional hours of independent study at the students’ discretion, a participant can benefit from learning that used to require several days out of the office. WestLake likes the hosted Saba Centra OnDemand solution because it can now offer online learning without having to house servers at its facility or hire an IT staff to maintain the equipment. The company leases a number of seat licenses annually but -- if a virtual class proves particularly popular -- Westlake can easily add seats on an as-needed basis. "Because of Saba Centra OnDemand, we’ve been able to build repeat business with a key government contractor, year after year,” Rogers noted. "I’m not sure that would have been possible if we had to travel to the organization’s various locations, or if they’d had to fly all their people to a single location.” For more information on WestLake Training and Development click: www.westlaketraining.com or call 877-937-8525l About Saba Saba (NASDAQ:SABA) is the premier Human Capital Management (HCM) software and services provider, using a people-centric approach to increase productivity and performance. Saba is a trusted partner to 1,200 customers in 150 countries, providing an integrated people management system to align individuals with company goals, develop people, improve collaboration, and increase visibility into organizational performance. Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, Saba has offices on five continents. For more information, please visit www.saba.com or call (+ 1) 877-SABA-101 or (+1) 650-779-2791.