SumTotal Systems Ranked Among Fastest Growing Companies in North America on Deloitte’s 2008 Technology Fast 500

Company’s Revenue Growth Attributed to Strong Customer Momentum and New Product Offerings in the Performance Management Market

Mountain View, CA, November 17, 2008 — SumTotal Systems (NASDAQ: SUMT) today announced it was named to the Deloitte 2008 Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications and life sciences companies in North America. The Deloitte Technology Fast 500 rankings are based on percentage of fiscal year revenue growth over five years, from 2003–2007, during which time SumTotal Systems’ revenue grew 313%.  According to the report, SumTotal Systems posted the largest revenue for fiscal year 2007 of any company in the talent development space.

Arun Chandra, SumTotal’s newly appointed CEO, credits market leading products and an industry-first unified approach to talent development with the company’s success over the past five years. “What attracted me to SumTotal was its proven customer base, innovative product portfolio and ability to adapt to an expanding market with on-demand and mobile offerings. But even more significant is the growth opportunity over the next five years, as we continue to strengthen our unified talent development platform and on-demand offerings, as well as expand our footprint among small and medium businesses and the performance management space.”

“Each company on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 is an innovator with an exceptional five-year track record of growth,” said Phil Asmundson, Deloitte LLP vice chairman and national managing partner for Technology, Media and Telecommunications. “SumTotal Systems has earned its position among the fastest growing companies in North America, and we are proud to honor this important accomplishment.”

Fast 500 Selection and Qualifying Criteria
The Fast 500 ranks the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications and life sciences companies in North America. It is compiled from Deloitte’s regional North American Fast 50 programs, nominations submitted directly to the Fast 500, and public company database research. Companies are selected based on percentage revenue growth from 2003 to 2007.

Entrants must own proprietary intellectual property or proprietary technology that contributes to a significant portion of the company's operating revenues or devote a significant proportion of revenues to research and development of technology. Using other companies' technology or intellectual property in a unique way does not qualify. Base-year operating revenues must be at least $50,000 USD or $75,000 CD, and current-year operating revenues must be at least $5 million USD or CD. Companies must be in business a minimum of five years, and they must be headquartered within North America.

About SumTotal Systems, Inc.
SumTotal Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMT) is the market leader and global provider of talent development solutions. SumTotal deploys mission-critical solutions designed to drive learning, align goals, develop skills, assess performance, plan for succession and set compensation. SumTotal’s solutions aim to accelerate performance and profits for more than 1,500 companies and governments of all sizes, including six of the world’s 10 biggest pharmaceutical makers, six of the 10 largest automotive companies in the world, four of the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, three of the world’s top five airlines, five of the six largest U.S. commercial banks and two of the world’s top five specialty retailers. Mountain View, Calif.-based SumTotal has offices across Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. For more information about SumTotal's products and services, visit www.sumtotalsystems.com.

About Deloitte
As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.

SumTotal and the SumTotal logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of SumTotal Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, as defined under Federal Securities Laws. These forward-looking statements include the statements regarding SumTotal’s growth and the strength of its business, prospects and markets in which it competes. These statements represent SumTotal's expectations or beliefs concerning future events. These statements are not historical facts or guarantees of future performance or events and are based on current expectations, estimates, beliefs, assumptions, goals and objectives, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by these statements. Readers of this press release are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to: (i) unknown errors, bugs or defects in SumTotal's software solutions or the inability to fix such errors, bugs and defects; (ii) the acceptance of SumTotal's software suite and future product offerings; (iii) the ability to successfully manage and increase growth, both within and outside of the United States, significant current and expected additional competition, and the need to continue to expand product distribution and services offerings; (iv) the actual demand and growth of the market for performance management products and services; (v) the ability to successfully implement SumTotal's solutions in the future; (vi) the ability to successfully address technological developments and standards; (vii) volatility in the U.S. and worldwide economy or reduced confidence in the economy and SumTotal’s ability to timely respond to such changes; and (viii) other events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in SumTotal's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's annual report for fiscal year 2007 on Form 10-K filed on March 13, 2008 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed November 6, 2008, The forward-looking statements contained in this release are made as the date of this news release, and SumTotal does not assume any obligation to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.