Josh Morgan
Alexander Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
Phone: 650-566-1200 ext. 414
jmorgan@alexanderogilvy.com

Lorin Kennedy
Pensare
Phone: 650-934-5735
lkennedy@pensare.com

Education and technology alliance reinvents business education to meet the needs of the new economy

LOS ALTOS, Calif — October 11, 1999 — Pensare, Inc., the leading provider of Business Learning Communities for the Internet, today announced a strategic alliance with Duke University's Fuqua School of Business to co-produce and deliver a new accredited Duke MBA program. The alliance also gives Pensare exclusive distribution rights to the jointly developed curriculum for resale among its corporate customers and other business schools seeking to develop their own degree-granting programs. As part of this agreement, Pensare will provide the Internet-based technology platform, produce the courses in an online format, and provide ongoing support for the program.

"The best education in the future will involve the optimal combination of face-to-face interaction with computer-based learning and Internet mediated discourse. Fuqua believes fervently in this direction, as evidenced by our pioneering launch three years ago of The Duke MBA--Global Executive program (formerly known as GEMBA)," said Blair Sheppard, Fuqua's senior associate dean for academic programs for senior managers. "We chose Pensare to co-produce our next accredited MBA program because they understand the importance of this combination and have the technical know-how and vision to bring it to a larger marketplace."

"This announcement represents the first time that a highly respected business school has aggressively moved to meet the needs of industry by offering a fully accredited, top-tier, blended Internet and on-site MBA program through a partnership with private industry," said Michael Moe, director of global growth stock research for Merrill Lynch. "This decision is even more notable given Fuqua's early success developing an online platform for their Global Executive program."

Alliance to Unite Industry-Leading Learning Platforms

As part of the agreement, Pensare will take responsibility for Duke's existing delivery system, the Distributed Enterprise Education Platform (DEEP). Pensare will merge key technologies from DEEP into Pensare's Knowledge Community™ platform to bring about an enhanced learning experience for students, instructors, and corporations.

"Fuqua's DEEP platform provides an innovative approach to distance learning by addressing the need for human interaction and live events in an Internet learning solution," said Doug Donzelli, president and CEO of Pensare, Inc. "The combination of DEEP with Pensare's Knowledge Community™ platform will result in a best-of-breed learning environment that can address the needs of academic institutions, corporate organizations, and the working professional."

Organizations to Gain Access to Best of Breed Curriculum

As part of the agreement, Pensare gains exclusive distribution rights to the courses that comprise the jointly developed MBA curriculum for inclusion in existing and future Pensare Business Learning Community solutions. Pensare will promote and distribute this product to corporate clients, both directly and through alliances and value-added resellers, significantly extending its current business education product offerings.

"Pensare's partnership with Fuqua will have a dramatic impact on the way organizations and professionals prepare for business in the new economy," said Donzelli. "The ongoing development of human capital has become increasingly important to companies competing globally. We expect the Duke brand and business curriculum to resonate with major corporations on several levels."

"Fuqua has led the charge in Internet-delivered business education, receiving the highest praise from leading global organizations such as Deutsche Bank, Siemens AG, and Ford Motor Corporation," said Sheppard. "By partnering with Pensare, we can expand our education offerings to the broad array of organizations that want to apply Fuqua's innovative curriculum to their corporate needs."

Open MBA Toolkit to Enable New Breed of Accredited Universities

In addition to corporate licensing, the partnership calls for the development of an Open MBA Toolkit, which can be used by other business schools and degree-granting organizations to offer their own accredited MBAs and certificate programs.

"This partnership will result in a new breed of accredited university," said Donzelli. "By customizing and extending the Open MBA Toolkit, Pensare and Fuqua will enable existing business schools, corporations and professional service firms to enter the Internet-enabled accredited education market in a fraction of the time it would take them to do it on their own."

About Pensare

Pensare is the leading provider of Business Learning Communities, combining an approach based on applied learning and human interaction with the world's top business schools and innovators to create success in the new economy. By partnering with industry experts and top-tier business schools and corporations, Pensare's performance courseware and customizable tools deliver expert knowledge into a comprehensive curriculum that enhances learning and organizational performance. The Pensare solution uses a unique Internet-based delivery mechanism that incorporates knowledge capture and sharing, multi-user simulations, online discussion groups, and interactive exercises to provide measurable business results while fostering best-practices and collaboration through the use of a virtual Learning Community. Pensare's financial partners are Battery Ventures, GE Equity*, Media Technology Ventures and Associated Venture Investors. For more information, visit Pensare's Web site (http://www.pensare.com/) or call (650) 967-5000.

About Duke University's Fuqua School of Business

Duke University's Fuqua School of Business (http://www.business.duke.edu/) was founded in 1969 and is widely regarded as a worldwide leader in management education and research. Fuqua was ranked No. 7 in Business Week's most recent rankings of the best business schools. It is also a leader in non-degree executive education, training more than 2,000 executives each year.

*GE Equity is a subsidiary of GE Capital and the private equity arm of GE (NYSE:GE).