Citrix gets into online training market

Citrix GoToTraining allows trainers to educate and test students individually or collectively

Citrix Online is getting into the training market with a new service aimed at helping companies train staff in geographically diverse locations.

The new GoToTraining product allows staff to be trained from their computer terminals, even if they are on different sides of the planet.

"As the economy begins to recover, companies of all sizes will focus their investments on hiring talent and employee training," said Brett Caine, general manager of Citrix Online.

"Whether for product education, compliance, internal policies or customer-facing expertise, every business will be seeking ways to train its workforce to improve productivity and enhance its value proposition."

The system allows trainers to share course material, update texts and test students individually or collectively. The service costs $149 (£95) per month for up to 25 attendees at a training session.

The market for online training is growing quickly, according to analyst firm Wainhouse Research, which estimates that the market will rise from a value of $678m (£429m) last year to $1.6bn (£1bn) in 2014

"GoToTraining appears to be arriving just in time to take advantage of a large market opportunity for simple training solutions without complicated extras that run up costs and require support," said Alan Greenberg, senior analyst and partner at Wainhouse Research.

"We predict that GoToTraining will be highly successful based on the merits of simplicity, enabling even low-tech small businesses to become training giants."