SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/08/12 -- ON24, Inc., the global leader in webcasting and virtual event solutions, today announced its first virtual conference dedicated to virtual learning, the Virtual Learning Edge. Set for November 15, the virtual event will feature insights and use cases presented by enterprise training thought leaders.

The Virtual Learning Edge attendees will learn about the online training solutions, technologies and trends which enable companies to re-engage with their employees through social, mobile and personalized learning solutions. At the half-day virtual conference attendees will also have access to a variety of free guidebooks and other content on building virtual learning programs.

"With ON24's virtual training solutions, we are redefining how corporate learning is being consumed," said ON24 CMO and Vice President Denise Persson. "Virtual Learning Edge content will focus on why virtual learning environments provide an exceptional end user experience, enhancing retention and providing improved learning outcomes."

The keynote speaker is noted analyst Josh Bersin, CEO and President of Bersin and Associates, the leading provider of research-based membership programs in human resources (HR), talent and learning. Bersin will explain how to best develop a high-impact learning organization. "Employers lack learning resources, yet they must provide high-quality, high-impact employee training. One solution to this dilemma is virtual learning," Bersin said. "Our research shows that new virtual learning environments now provide a dynamic, highly engaging experience and have become a must-have solution for high-impact employee development."

The Benefits of Virtual Training
ON24 conducts research evaluating virtual training perceptions and adoption on an ongoing basis. One recent study evaluated the use of virtual communication and training tools compared to traditional in-person methods. The study, sent to 3,000 corporate human resources, continuing education and training executives, revealed that, as expected, participants find virtual training more convenient and affordable than traditional training methods. "What we didn't expect was that some 60% of the respondents said that virtual training retention is better than or as good as in-person training retention," said Persson. "This illustrates that when training is consumed online, improved learning outcomes can result."

ON24 has also polled the learning professionals attending its webinars dedicated to virtual training. In a poll conducted earlier this year, respondents said their biggest training challenge is training an increasingly dispersed workforce (33.3%). An overwhelming 68% said that usability -- finding the right information at the right time and in the right format -- is the top challenge for learners. "Virtual training addresses both of these challenges. With virtual learning, content can be consumed anywhere, any time and on any device," Persson explained. "And that content can be more easily organized and tracked in a virtual learning environment."

The speakers at the Virtual Learning Edge will elaborate on these findings and also address emerging learning trends. In addition to Bersin, speakers will include:

• Doug Harward, CEO and founder, Training Industry, describing key trends in social learning
• Tom Masotto, ON24 Vice President of Product Management, explaining how to build successful virtual learning environments
• Michele Suprunowicz, Talent Management & Development at Sodexo, where virtual training improved training effectiveness and participation and reduced costs 90%

About the Virtual Learning Edge

• Date: November 15, 2012
• Time: 9 am PST-1:30 pm PST
• Registration: http://bit.ly/PAGbNw
• Twitter hashtag: #ON24VLE
• Media sponsors: Chief Learning Officer, Training Industry and Training Magazine

About ON24, Inc.
ON24, the virtual communications platform for the global enterprise, provides interactive, impactful cloud-based solutions that drive outstanding results. ON24 offers a broad and innovative product portfolio, including webcasting, virtual events and virtual environments, accessible from any device and supported by robust reporting and analytics. Applications for the ON24 platform include demand generation, partner enablement, training, product launches, company town hall meetings and user conferences. More than 700 organizations, including IBM, CA Technologies, Merck, Unilever, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, Credit Suisse, Ernst & Young, Amazon and New York Life, rely on ON24. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices throughout the world. For more information, visit http://www.ON24.com.