Thomson Prometric Receives IT Hero Award

Thomson Prometric Receives IT Hero Award

Baltimore, Md. – January 20, 2004 – Thomson Prometric, the global leader in technology-enabled testing and assessment services, and part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC), today announced it is the recipient of the ManageSoft Corporation's IT Hero Award.

"We always are looking for innovative ways to showcase the great results our customers are achieving with our solutions," said Walter Elliot, CEO of ManageSoft, a world leader in software configuration management solutions. "We are excited to recognize Thomson Prometric as our first IT Hero. With ManageSoft's solutions, Thomson Prometric has been able to strategically manage its network, resulting in a real market advantage that enables Thomson Prometric to differentiate itself from the competition while achieving up to one million dollars in cost savings."

ManageSoft Corporation launched its ManageSoft IT Hero AwardÔ program to recognize customers who utilize its enterprise solutions in a unique and strategic manner; helping solve business-critical software management and IT challenges.  ManageSoft selected Thomson Prometric based on its innovative use of ManageSoft to effectively manage its network of more than ten thousand workstations.

ManageSoft's real-time reporting and self-healing capabilities helps Thomson Prometric establish a competitive advantage by automatically and instantly managing software downloads and configurations, reporting on results accurately, and ensuring the appropriate software and testing materials are present at each workstation location at any time.

"We are honored that ManageSoft has selected us as its first IT Hero Award winner," said Lisa Nielsen, manager, Technology-Software at Thomson Prometric. "Our biggest IT challenge as a company is ensuring that we have the right test, at the right center, at the right time. ManageSoft's real-time reporting and self-healing capabilities has empowered our sales force by enabling them to offer enhanced service levels to prospective customers. None of the other vendors we evaluated could match ManageSoft's superior performance."

Previous to ManageSoft, Thomson Prometric used a proprietary software deployment system to assemble application packages for overnight distribution (as large as 1 MB), queuing and batch transmitting. Data and results concerning successful transmissions were entered manually for reports. As a result, it took at least one week to update 80 percent of the test centers and another two to three weeks to complete the software distribution. With ManageSoft, software for any machine can be deployed and viewed instantly. Thomson Prometric can now confirm, in real-time, that its testing centers receive the right software and content at the right time, enabling the company to provide unrivaled service levels to its customers.

For more information on how ManageSoft helped Thomson Prometric solve its business-critical IT challenge, please visit the ManageSoft IT Hero Award Website at http://www.managesoft.com/ITHero.

About The Thomson Corporation and Prometric

The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2002 revenues from continuing operations of $7.5 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information, software tools and applications to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate training and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson has approximately 43,000 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC). Its learning businesses and brands serve the needs of individuals, learning institutions, corporations and government agencies with products and services for both traditional and distributed learning. 

Prometric www.prometric.com is the global leader in technology-enabled testing and assessment services for information technology certification, academic admissions and professional licensure and certifications. Prometric delivers standardized tests for 300 clients, in 26 languages, over the Web or through a global network of testing centers in 134 countries. Based in Baltimore, Md., Prometric employs 3,000 employees worldwide.

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