E Learning Services For Their Clients example essay topic

Executive Summary Intellinex LLC is an e Learning company that was recently spun off from its parent Ernest & Young LLP. At its inception Intellinex claimed to be one of the largest e Learning providers. They have an aggressive strategy to take advantage of the consolidating e Learning market and become a 'one-stop' provider of all e Learning services for their clients. Their focus is on creating customized training for clients and helping them to implement and maintain their on-line courses. Products and services are geared toward large companies that spend approximately $1 million on their e Learning projects; not individuals or small companies.

They have asserted a strenuous goal of $100 million revenue in the first year of business. Company BackgroundIntellinex LLC is an e Learning provider of "one-stop learning solutions that are faster, lower in cost, more flexible, and more convenient than traditional classroom training", (web). Ernst & Young LLP launched their wholly owned e Learning venture, Intellinex LLC, on October 5, 2000. Ernst & Young was the first of the "Big 5" firms to create an operating company that offers e Learning services. With less than a year of experience practicing business on their own, much of the background information for Intellinex stems from their internal work with Ernst & Young prior to the spin off. Their parent had already seen the light of e Learning and began creating training that "focused on everything a young audit person would need when first starting their career".

Almost all Ernst & Young employees had begun taking e Learning courses through a unit now known at Intellinex. They found that it was less expensive to train them online than to fly them to training centers for multiple courses. Due to Year 2000 concerns, Ernst & Young changed its curriculum-development procedures and what previously took 200 hours to create 1 hour of online training now takes 20 hours. (Walsh 2) Intellinex was able to take advantage of this change. Ernst & Young already had more than 40 clients receiving e Learning services using this unit. Ernst and Young will continue to use Intellinex for internal training through a third party agreement.

(Howell 2) Ernst & Young's decision to separate from its online corporate training department was in hopes of increasing the unit's profitability by acquisitions. Intellinex started with more than 400 employees and five major locations. Their focus was providing customized training for clients through satellite, desktop web casting, streaming video, and web-based courses. Products and Services Details and Evaluation Intellinex is a provider of a variety of e Learning solutions. They have experience in 'instructional design and development, multimedia, leadership, development, measurement, performance consulting, and strategy development,' (web). They can design and develop customized e Learning solutions for customers based on their specific needs.

They also provide subscription based and self service solutions where customers can maintain their own e Learning courses and content. Intellinex has also acquired Teach. com who provide online prepackaged courses in business and PC skills. Intellinex 'eventually wants to offer its business clients a one-stop shopping for leading products, while capitalizing on Ernst & Young's strength in client service,' (Khirallah 1). By building alliances in the information technology e Learning sector rather than developing their own programs they can focus on the non-IT training accounts. Forecasters say, that at this time non-IT training only accounts for 22% of the revenue but by 2003 it should generate more than half of the e Learning market value.

(Howell 3) Intellinex has partnered with Doing Business Globally, an online learning solutions provider that has off the shelf content. Richard S. Borrow, chief executive officer of Ernst & Young sites their mission is to 'equip companies with customized e Learning tools, content, and delivery that can help them outsmart and outperform their competition in the global economy,' (Lymer 2). Their website is very well designed and displays a professional quality of work. They provide free demos of their software. They can be downloaded in multiple zipped files and viewed from a computer. They are not interactive but do display the potential of their product and / or services.

When viewing the files, they provide screen captures that guide you through the potential of their e Learning solution. The system that Intellinex would set up is very different than one of a traditional e Learning provider. They actually specialize in setting up a system very similar to that of a traditional e Learning provider. Intellinex develops a system for companies that allows them to create an index of classes. Customers can have their program set up so employees can request courses and supervisors approve the course. They provide the program that monitors the student's progress.

They even have software that allows the client to set the content completely on their own. The client can choose everything from the display and content of information to the type of questions that will be developed to assess the student. Their market is larger companies that that have a need to create their own internal online courses specific to the company needs rather than an individual consumer. Individuals would have no need for their services.

Their project contracts are usually over $1 million. (Howell 2) Chairman and Employee Information Intellinex provided very little information about their Management Philosophy and Team. They provided a short biography of their Chairman and CEO, Michael J. Powers. They sited him as contributing 'a strong blend of strategic management, learning, and technology experience to his new positions,' (web).

Prior to heading up Intellinex he was a partner with Ernst & Young and Vice Chairman - Professional and Organizational Development. There he was responsible for the learning and change management initiatives in the firm. It goes into further detail and discuss his previous experience both professionally and educationally but does not discuss him management philosophy. There is no other reference to any team that supports him.

They currently employee over 500 individuals. If you were interested in a job with their company they describe the company as 'a young, creative enterprise that is putting e Learning on the corporate map. ' They describe the current employees as 'a visionary bunch of employees who GET IT!' (web). They do not describe their corporate culture but in a press release on October 4, 2000 their first day of business employees 'danced, sang, cheered and partied their way through celebration day. ' Business Model Intellinex does not explicitly describe its business model. Their CEO does suggest that 'One of the things that sets Intellinex apart is that we really understand the power of applied knowledge,' (web).

I believe that they are able to reach competitive advantage in part by their LEAP (Learning Environment to Accelerate Performance) software, which is an e Learning technology suite. This software includes a Learning Management System (LMS) and Learning Development System (LDS). This program is unique to Intellinex and the experience behind the software is a good seller when they present their services to potential clients. They also have their parent company's reputation. 'With financial strength and learning expertise of Ernst & Young behind it, Intellinex expects to achieve significant market share and stand out in a highly competitive market,' (Lymer 2). When Intellinex was launched, last October, it immediately became on of the largest independent providers of e Learning solutions.

Since then it has partnered and acquired additional companies. They realize that the e Learning market is going to consolidate and many of companies will either be bought or not succeed in the next couple years. Their plan is to take advantage of these companies and the opportunities and become larger. They will be able to gain clients on their own, but they are also a subsidiary of Ernst & Young. When clients of Ernst & Young want e Learning services they will look to Intellinex.

'Companies want the benefits of e Learning, which include cost savings, convenience, speed and flexibility, coupled with performance results... Intellinex provides that and more,' (Lymer 2). They have over 500 employees around the world that are backed with 80 years of experience in the learning business and six years specializing in e Learning. Six years is along time in this new market. With the experience, partners, and finical backing they defiantly have a competitive advantage over other smaller and newer companies. Analysis of Future Intellinex appears to be an e Learning company with a bright future.

I believe their biggest advantages are their size and financial backing that they have benefited from since inception. They also have the reputation of Ernst & Young one of the 'Big 5'. They have identified market trends of e Learning and are actually looking forward to taking advantage of them rather than fear they will be swallowed. Mike Powers claims they 'should easily do, in the first year of operations, over $100 million in revenue,' (Howell 3). Last year the e Learning sector accounted for $1.1 billion and is expected to grow to $11.4 billion by 2003. With such high forecasts in the first year and a growing market they should maintain their current size and grow.

Intellinex excepts their number of clients to triple within the next year. (Howell 2) Some of their clients include Cisco Systems, Inc., Enron, American Express, and Motorola to name only a few they provided. They have already established a partnership with one company and acquired another in less than a year.

Bibliography

Howell, Donna. 'Ernst & Young Makes Bid to take Clients to School. ' Internet & Technology 04 Oct 2000.
Khirallah, Diane. 'Ernst & Young Subsidiary buys e Learning Provider. ' Information Week. com 06 Nov 2000.
Lymer, Andy. 'Ernst & Young Launch e-Learning Spin-off called Intellinex. ' Accounting Education. com 09 Oct 2000.
Online Internet. Available : web Mary Williams. 'Ernst & Young to Spin Off Unit. ' Technology 02 Oct 2000.