In the past, if a company wanted to train its employees on a specific software application it often had to spend valuable time and resources sending them to a class.
But Bethlehem-based SPINACT has devised a way to deliver knowledge as an online service. Late last year, the startup received a $150,000 investment from Ben Franklin Technology partners to help launch its Knowledge Marketplace platform–an online service available through subscription.
It works like this: A content producer uploads a training video or other materials for, say, CAD or SAP software. A company would then have access to this knowledge for the price of a subscription.
“Companies need to re-train their workers, there’s a big demand for learning but at the same time budgets are being slashed,” says George Spatoulas, SPINACT’s VP for sales and marketing. “We believe there will be a big demand for things like this. Companies can save money, reduce budgets and also continue training people.”
Initially, SPINACT will focus its content on training materials for SAP software users. The company will have about 3,000 pages of training documents for SAP software online when it goes live the first weekend of February. The site is currently in beta testing.
SPINACT has adopted a business model similar to that used by iPhone: Users who upload content will receive about 75 percent of the revenue generated each time a subscribers uses their content.
The company currently employs five people, but Spatoulas says 2009 should see a glut of new hires as SPINACT’s site goes live. “We plan to more than double our personnel over the course of this year.”
Source: George Spatoulas, SPINACT VP of Sales and Marketing
Writer: John Davidson
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