Advancements Underscore Company’s Continued Commitment to Helping Enterprise Customers Manage and Secure Their Growing Multimedia Assets
MADISON, Wis., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Sonic Foundry, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOFO) , a leader in automated rich media communications technology, today announced major enhancements to Mediasite(TM) EX Server for the Enterprise and Mediasite Recorder software. The improvements further differentiate Mediasite as the leading enterprise platform for managing multimedia communications.
Mediasite is a transformational communication medium used to deliver critical information and share knowledge. Business, education and government organizations, including Lockheed Martin, Clemson University and the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation, use Mediasite to automatically record and webcast vital information without time-consuming or costly production. Mediasite Recorders automate the capture and delivery of presentations and lectures for either live or on-demand viewing via the web. Mediasite EX Server centrally stores, secures, manages and monitors these rich media assets so they can be leveraged across large enterprises.
Mediasite 4.0 introduces the new Mediasite Management Portal, end-to-end security, expanded reporting, remote Recorder control and enhancements to the Mediasite Viewer interface for watching recorded presentations. In addition, EX Server now provides an integration-ready solution for customers to incorporate Mediasite content into other applications within their organization.
“Enterprises are increasingly turning to webcasts for everyday business communication. As their use of rich media webcasting expands, so does the need to effectively manage the content creation, management and delivery process,” said Ira Weinstein, senior analyst and partner of Wainhouse Research. “Mediasite 4.0 provides Sonic Foundry customers with a number of frequently requested capabilities, like centralized capture device management, tighter content security and protection, and the ability to grant system permissions on a per user basis. This is a solid release from one of the key players in the enterprise streaming market.”
“Doctors and residents make up the vast majority of our Mediasite user base; with their busy schedules it is often hard for them to find the time to view grand rounds (continuing education conferences). The ability to deliver this content to them live or on-demand from anywhere with an internet connection makes Mediasite a very powerful tool for training, and with the added security features in 4.0, we will also be able to limit access to certain presentations,” said John Garcia, network specialist videoconference operations at University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio.
The enhanced EX Server includes:
* Mediasite Management Portal: provides a single, authenticated point-of-entry into the Mediasite system to create and manage presentations — based on roles and permissions, users only see the Mediasite functions appropriate to their needs, providing administrators tighter control over system access and use.
* Presentation content security: prevents unauthorized presentation viewing from copied and forwarded links.
* Dual directory support: integrates with Microsoft(R) Active Directory or any LDAP-compatible directory in addition to the Mediasite Directory to separately manage internal and external Mediasite users.
* Secure FTP: encrypts video and image transfers making it more difficult for others to intercept.
* Enhanced reporting: provides a real-time snapshot of all live and on-demand viewers as well detailed statistics of users’ specific viewing activities and durations for every presentation watched.
* Recorder Control Center: provides status monitoring of all registered Recorders plus convenient web-based remote control of Recorder operations, such as starting and stopping a recording, controlling recorder settings, publishing presentations and deleting presentations.
* Mediasite External Data Access Service: allows external applications such as course management, learning management and content management systems or custom portals to access Mediasite presentations and metadata through a platform-independent web service.
The updated Mediasite Viewer now includes:
* Chapters: accelerate navigation to important parts of a presentation.
* Customizable links: incorporate easy access to any number of related reference materials, web pages or other applications, such as testing and assessment.
* Adjustable playback rate: speeds up/slows down presentation playback based on user preference.
* Larger video and slide viewing windows.
“For organizations that must manage thousands of hours of webcast content, Mediasite 4.0 delivers the security, management, customization and scalability expected in an enterprise-grade solution, while dovetailing with their existing enterprise systems and network environments already in place,” said Rimas Buinevicius, chairman and CEO of Sonic Foundry. “We are excited to introduce these enhancements to our customers, and look forward to empowering leaders in business, education and government with communication tools that make it easier for their information workers to create and access the knowledge they need, when they need it.”
Mediasite EX Server 4.0 for the Enterprise and Mediasite 4.0 Recorder software are available for immediate shipment.
About Sonic Foundry(R), Inc.
Founded in 1991, Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ:SOFO) is a technology leader in the emerging rich media communications marketplace, providing enterprise solutions and services that link an information-driven world. Sonic Foundry is changing the way organizations communicate via the web and how people around the globe receive vital information needed for work, professional advancement, safety and education. The company’s integrated webcasting and web presentation solutions are trusted by Fortune 500 companies, education institutions and government agencies for a variety of critical communication needs. Sonic Foundry is based in Madison, Wis. For more information about Sonic Foundry, visit http://www.sonicfoundry.com.
Certain statements contained in this news release regarding matters that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Because such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, uncertainties pertaining to continued market acceptance for Sonic Foundry’s products, its ability to succeed in capturing significant revenues from media services and/or systems, the effect of new competitors in its market and other risk factors identified from time to time in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Source: Sonic Foundry, Inc.
CONTACT: Terri Douglas of Catapult PR-IR, +1-303-581-7760, ext. 18, or cell, +1-303-808-6820, tdouglas@catapultpr-ir.com, for Sonic Foundry, Inc.
