Downturn in Training Budgets Fuels Information Gap
U.S. IT Professionals Losing Ground in Technology Advancements

Portland, Ore.—May 15, 2003—Corporate America may face a virtual “Information Gap” since drastic cuts have been implemented in technology training. Experts caution there may be a serious lag between the adoption of new technologies and their implementation by information technology (IT) specialists.

Analysts for International Data Corp. (IDC), in Framingham, Mass., warn that corporate training has slowed considerably. IDC analysts say spending last year fell $1.1 billion, and they have revised downward by 8.5 percent IDC’s estimate of last year's expenditures on external IT training and education.

“One of the first things heavily affected by a slow economy is training in new technology, “ explains Amar Kamadoli, instructor and engineer at Axian, Inc. in Beaverton, OR. “Also, staffing cutbacks translates to fewer people who can fill in for those who are absent during traditional weeklong training sessions.”

Compounding the problem is that travel allowances have been slashed as well, while many IT professionals are finding that the five training sessions they were approved for a few years ago may now be reduced to one, or even none.

Faced with this growing dilemma, corporate IT staffs are looking for ways to reduce time away from work while dealing with smaller budgets and allowances for training. One recent solution provided by Axian, Inc. of Beaverton, OR is the creation of “short courses” that reduce a five-day training session to three while sacrificing none of the curriculum.

“Our classes are leveraged towards students who want the classroom knowledge but prefer not to spend days sitting in a lab,” explained Frank Helle, Axian Chief Executive Officer. “ Plus, the costs can be half that of weeklong programs. Staying current not only benefits corporations seeking to utilize the latest availability in technology, but is an excellent means for retaining loyal, well educated employees.”

Axian offers a wide variety of cross language, enterprise-wide instruction. Current course offerings include Microsoft .NET Development, Visual Basic and Database .NET Essentials, ASP.NET using Visual Basic .NET., and .NET XML Web Services using Visual Basic .NET. A full description with costs is available a www.Axian.com.

Axian is a Microsoft Certified Partner and has easy access to up-to-date technical information and online support directly from Microsoft. Each student is provided with the latest development tools and libraries, along with beta versions of the most recent software.

About Axian
Axian provides expert software consulting, contracting and training to clients ranging from small businesses to major corporations. The combined experience of Axian’s team provides clients a unique perspective and broad expertise across architectural paradigms, programming languages, operating systems, hardware platforms and applications.

Axian was formed in 1991 and is headquartered in Portland, Ore. Clients include Intel, Planar, Nautilus Group, ADP, ESI, Nike, Bidwell Securities, Mentor Graphics, Cascade Microtech, Wells Fargo, IBM, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, Applied Materials, OGI, Tektronix and RE/MAX Equity Group Realtors.

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