KDS teams up with Assima to provide e-learning support to customers

Partnership delivers enhanced user support through e-learning and change management services

Paris / London November 6, 2007 – KDS, the European leader in on-demand travel and expense solutions, and ASSIMA, a global e-learning software company, today announced a partnership to provide KDS customers with e-learning solutions and change management services to support their adoption of KDS solutions.

Under the agreement KDS will provide its customers with access to Assima’s e-learning tools and portal to help train their employees on use of their T&E solution. KDS will also provide full change management support, including the coaching of change leaders, development of internal communication tools, and management of communication and training campaigns.

"We are delighted to offer our customers the know-how, expertise and global reach of ASSIMA," said Stanislas Berteloot, marketing director of KDS. "Implementing a KDS solution is a strategic move for our customers. This typically involves numerous teams across many sites around the world. Although training needs are minimal because of KDS’ intuitive and user-friendly design, carrying out proper change management and educating users about the benefits of KDS Corporate are important in helping customers to achieve a rapid return on investment."

ASSIMA's role includes the development of a training environment to match KDS's client environment. Not only will the look and feel of the e-learning interface duplicate the environment used by travelers, but the actual content used – such as travel suppliers, negotiated deals and travel policies – will match those of each customer. Meanwhile, the ASSIMA portal will provide users with a structured means for following up on training, including personalised progress monitoring.

"KDS and ASSIMA already share common customers and our products are a natural fit for each other. Combining our expertise will help KDS to ensure that its customers derive the maximum performance and benefit from its solutions," said Michel Balcaen, chairman of ASSIMA Ltd.

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Press Contacts:
Melanie Hanus / Marc Cornelius / Elise Manicardi
KDS / 80:20 PR / ASSIMA
+33 1 46 29 58 88 / +44 (0)20 7924 7576 / +33 1 47 30 71 30
mhanus@kds.com / marc@8020pr.com / emanicardi@assima.net

About KDS
KDS on-demand travel & expense offers a completely integrated solution for travel and expense management, addressing essential needs ranging from travel policy definition and enforcement, to online travel self-booking, to automated travel expense processing and beyond. Every critical procedure can be completed through the KDS ASP offering, resulting in greater efficiencies and associated financial benefits. In addition, KDS offers the most extensive back-end connectivity to airline, car, rail and hotel providers in the industry, ensuring optimized pricing and up-to-the-minute inventory control. For more information, visit www.kds.com.

About Assima
ASSIMA creates technology solutions to support largescale application deployments, delivering measurable return on investment through increased user performance. Assima's award winning software, training and change management solutions drive adoption, utilisation and organisational proficiency for all your business critical IT change projects. For more information, visit www.assima.net