HP's E-learning-on-Tap service will let users train employees over the Internet via HP's E-learning Web site. The service will combine HP's virtual-classroom technology with content-management and education-consulting services. Participants must dial in via telephone to hear the instructor. That differs from LearnLinc Corp.'s application, which delivers lectures to students' computers via streaming audio. HP says streaming audio isn't advanced enough to use.

HP has signed a few beta customers for the service, which will be generally available later this month. Marvy Walker, director of AT&T's consumer sales division, is using the service to train about 40 remote workers. Users log on to HP's Internet site, enter an ID and password, and view the presentation. "I like the ASP option because I don't have to manage or maintain the software," Walker says.

Syncra Systems, a provider of supply-chain collaboration software, will disclose plans to provide application- hosting services for its flagship software, Syncra Ct. The new service, called SyncUp, takes forecasting data from existing supply-chain planning systems and transmits it between groups or companies via the Net. Web-consulting firm Consonus Inc. will host the application for Syncra. Pricing for hosting customers starts at $1,000 per month for each trading partner, compared with $60,000 for a one-time purchase.

Meanwhile, Corio is enhancing its PeopleSoft offering while reducing cost and implementation time. Using proprietary Web tools, Corio says it can deliver PeopleSoft implementations within 10 days, compared with three to six months without the tools. Also, Corio Express Financial lets Corio consultants deploy PeopleSoft applications without having to travel to customer sites and perform custom configuration.

The applications also will be adapted to fit a customer's pre-existing business model. For example, Corio can take a customer's QuickBooks or Peachtree accounting software, reverse-engineer it to view the business processes used, and produce compatible PeopleSoft financial applications that include all of the tier-one application data. Corio charges $10,000 a month for a seven-user license.