SkillSoft’s Books24x7 List of Popular Titles Reveals that Interest Continues in Cloud Computing and Tablets, Self-Help, Project Management, Business Analytics and Leadership/Management

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Books24x7 Top Reads Indicative of Overall Business and IT Trends

NASHUA, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SkillSoft, a leading SaaS provider of e-learning and performance support solutions for global enterprises, government, education and small-to-medium-sized businesses, today introduced its list of Books24x7 “What’s Popular” titles from the second quarter of 2011. The list reveals the leading reading trends for business and IT executives and professionals. By analyzing the 100 most popular book titles for the past quarter, the following trends have been identified:

Business-Related Trends:

  • Professional and career development books captured 23 of the top 100 positions overall, followed by project management with 8, business analytics with 7, and leadership/management taking 5 positions.
  • A new title, “A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK Guide). Version 2.0 by The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA)” was just released in the second quarter and quickly moved up to the number 39th position overall.
  • Best practices for the C-suite were highly read, capturing 4 out of the 10 top business-related titles, with another 4 of the top 10 titles focused on how companies can optimize the effectiveness of their current workforce in the current economic environment.
  • Communication was a major focus for executives, capturing 3 of the top 10 positions in the business book summaries category.

IT-Related Trends:

  • Java and Microsoft™ Office Excel dominated the What’s Popular list of IT-related titles in the second quarter
  • Other popular IT topics for the second quarter included CompTIA A+ certification, SharePoint 2010 and 2007, Windows 7, C# 2010, .NET 4, CISSP, Android, SAS certification, ISTQB software testing certification, Windows Presentation Foundation, Access 2010, information security, HTML5, Spring, Network+, Windows PowerShell and Objective-C.
  • The number of iPad-related titles in the top 100 declined from 4 to 2, but Android, iPhone and iPad-related titles represented 7 of the top 100 IT-related titles.
  • The interest in cloud is still on the rise, with 4 of the 10 most popular IT analyst reports, and 14 of the top 100 overall titles being cloud-related. Other highly read analyst reports covered topics such as IT strategy and architecture, IT leadership, risk management, mobile and tablets, and business intelligence.

In partnership with industry's foremost publishers, industry vendors, analyst firms, business thought leaders and senior executives of Fortune 500 companies; the Books24x7 On Demand Platform offers on-demand, instant access to the complete text of thousands of best-in-class books, book summaries, research reports and best practices.

“The Books24x7 What’s Popular list is a great indicator of the trending topics that are of highest interest from an informal learning perspective,” said John Ambrose, senior vice president, strategy, corporate development and emerging business, SkillSoft. “This quarter’s popular titles are an interesting mix of business and IT related topics including mobile, IT strategy and architecture and business communications. This mix of most popular titles highlights the variety of collections and titles offered by Books24x7 and the large number of subscribers across a wide range of disciplines and job titles.”

The top 10 titles across all disciplines for the second quarter of 2011 were:

  • 175 Ways to Get More Done in Less Time!
  • A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). Fourth Edition
  • Better Vocabulary in 30 Minutes a Day
  • 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself: Change Your Life Forever. Revised Edition.
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic
  • No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline
  • The Awakening Course: The Secret to Solving All Problems
  • Java Programming: 24-Hour Trainer
  • PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide. Third Edition
  • Excel 2010 Power Programming with VBA

For more information on SkillSoft’s Books24x7 collections, please visit http://www.skillsoft.com/Books24x7/Product_Information/Collections/default.asp

About SkillSoft

SkillSoft is a leading SaaS provider of on-demand e-learning and performance support solutions for global enterprises, government, education and small to medium-sized businesses. SkillSoft enables business organizations to maximize business performance through a combination of comprehensive e- learning content, online information resources, flexible learning technologies and support services. SkillSoft is on the web at http://www.skillsoft.com.

Content offerings include business, IT, desktop, compliance and consumer/SMB courseware collections, as well as complementary content assets such as Leadership Development Channel video products, KnowledgeCenter(TM) portals, virtual instructor-led training services and online mentoring services. SkillSoft's Books24x7(R) product offering includes access to more than 29,000 digitized IT and business books, as well as book summaries and executive reports. Technology offerings include the SkillPort(R) learning management system, Search-and-Learn(R), SkillSoft(R) Dialogue(TM), inGenius(R) and virtual classroom.

SkillSoft courseware content described herein is for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. SkillSoft has no obligation or commitment to develop or deliver any future release, upgrade, feature, enhancement or function described in this press release except as specifically set forth in a written agreement.

SkillSoft, the SkillSoft logo, SkillPort, Search-and-Learn, SkillChoice, Books24x7, ITPro, BusinessPro, OfficeEssentials, GovEssentials, EngineeringPro, FinancePro, AnalystPerspectives, ExecSummaries, ExecBlueprints, Express Guide, Dialogue and inGenius are trademarks or registered trademarks of SkillSoft Ireland Limited in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners, countries.

SkillSoft
Donna Ayer, 603-821-3211
Donna_Ayer@SkillSoft.com
or
Lois Paul & Partners
Maribel Lopez, 781-782-5719
Maribel_Lopez@lpp.com

Source: SkillSoft

Released September 20, 2011