Telestream and Nativ Helping Getty Images. Part II

The Solution

The Nativ team worked with Getty to develop system requirements and identify potential vendors. The recommendation that came forward was for Nativ to develop a customized solution called the Video Asset Pipeline Processor (VAPP). VAPP would draw on Nativ’s existing Mio Core System for cataloging, validating, filtering, and repurposing video content, and on Telestream’s FlipFactory for transcoding media and automating video workflows.

According to Folland, “Mio works as a video analysis tool by telling both the end user and Getty everything they need to know about the file being uploaded, from file format to pixel aspect ratio to language.” The system also serves an important gateway function by validating whether the files being uploaded are in an acceptable format before kicking off the upload process.

As for the choice of vendor for the transcoding component, Claxton says, “Telestream is recognized as a market leader in transcoding, and we were already familiar with the FlipFactory product.” One of the features of FlipFactory that Getty and Nativ particularly liked was its ability to support a broad range of file formats. Says Claxton, “We needed something that spanned as broad a range of file types as possible” because MMS customers need to choose the format in which they store their video assets.

Starting in February 2007, Getty’s London development team worked closely with the Nativ consultants on developing VAPP and integrating Mio, while Nativ and Telestream collaborated on the FlipFactory implementation customized for Getty’s needs. George Boath, Telestream’s European regional manager, says that “the Software Developer Toolkit for FlipFactory provides a lot of power and flexibility to use predefined code, customized code, or a combination of the two.” He recalls that the Getty implementation used mostly predefined code but Nativ did some customization to address Getty’s requirements. “The Nativ team got up to speed on FlipFactory very quickly,” Boath recalls. “It helped that we have a support team in London who could work closely with them.”

Claxton and Boath both mention that the project required Getty to appreciate the difference in complexity between video and still image processing. “With most of our customers, 25-50% of the project issues that our technical guys are called in to resolve are on storage capacity and network infrastructure,” says Telestream’s Boath. “Oftentimes the IT staff doesn’t anticipate the load that video processing will put on their infrastructure.”

It took about three months for the FlipFactory component of the Getty solution to be completed, and about six months total for the VAPP solution comprising Nativ and Telestream platforms to be finalized, in time for an early August 2007 rollout. Claxton says that Getty will continue to use Nativ in a consulting capacity to tweak and improve the video management solution in future upgrades.

The Outcome

While it is still too early to gauge customer response to Getty Images’ new video management capabilities, the solution powered by Nativ and Telestream offers some marked advantages over the old system. Claxton points to the presence of thumbnail screens and automated metadata extraction as two key advantages that make it easier for end users to browse their corporate video assets.

Another improvement is the availability of secure streaming previews of videos. “Our customers are concerned about their video image asset security; they want to provide a low-resolution streaming preview but prevent downloads of high resolution versions of the file,” says Claxton. Implementation of Akamai’s streaming preview technology as part of their solution addresses both the discovery and security concerns of Getty’s customers. “Using Akamai also took some of the burden off of our technical environment to support that video streaming.”

Nativ’s Folland points out that Getty’s MMS model provides key benefits for its customers, who may be addressing video asset management in earnest for the first time. “Media asset management solutions have historically been very expensive. But under Getty’s ‘software as service’ model, customers pay for only the video management they need. They don’t have to buy, install, or host software because MMS services are entirely web-based. And they offer a massive breadth of support for video formats, which have yet to be standardized.”

The ability of Getty Images to offer a robust video processing system to its MMS clients is a major competitive advantage. “Customers think of video as just another asset type, the next step in digital assets, but it’s about ten times as complicated to store and manage,” Claxton says, looking at Getty’s own experience. “Images are in standardized formats, but video can span a huge range of formats and codecs. By offering video support, we shield our customers from the complexity of doing it themselves.”

Read Case Study Part I

Telestream and Nativ Helping Getty Images. Part I

Telestream and Nativ came together to help Getty Images get a handle on its ever-growing library of digital video.

Getty Images creates and distributes the world’s broadest image collection, making stock images available to customers for use in news, sports, entertainment, and archiving. Getty was founded in 1995 with the goal of modernizing the stock photography industry, and was the first company to license imagery via the web. Today, gettyimages.com serves an average of 4 million unique users in addition to an average of 175 million page views each month, delivering nearly 100% of the company’s visual content digitally.

Business Challenge

Getty Images’ Media Management Services (MMS) group offers solutions for customers in the media and corporate markets to enable users to store, manage, and share their digital assets in a secure, searchable, password-protected environment. Getty Images' MMS group serves more than 190 clients worldwide, including American Film Institute, BSkyB, Discovery Communications, and General Motors. A growing number of these customers were requesting support of video assets in addition to their still image collections and turned to Getty for an integrated solution. While Getty’s MMS solution offered rudimentary support for video, the MMS team knew a more sophisticated interface would be required as video usage by their customers continued to climb.

Nativ is a UK-based consulting, technology, and outsourcing company specializing in the design, delivery, and support of video-centric products and services. Founded in 2001, the company delivers videocentric strategy and technology solutions for clients including MTV Live, Sony, and BBC News. Their flagship product is Mio, a media management and workflow platform designed to automate the process of ingesting, validating, cataloging, re-purposing, and distributing digital media across any platform.

Telestream provides encoding-based media workflow solutions that allow customers like A&E Television Networks and Google to conveniently transform digital media on the desktop and across the enterprise. Founded in 1998, Telestream offers plug-in components, craft encoding applications, and workflow automation applications that enable content owners, creators, service providers, and enterprises to streamline their operations.

The Problem In Depth

Getty Images’ MMS team provides its corporate and media customers hosted solutions for managing and distributing digital image assets through two services, Media Manager and Image.net. Media Manager is a digital asset management service targeted at creative and marketing teams, enabling web-based access from across the enterprise to a company’s marketing materials to ensure consistency, security, and efficiency. Image.net is a subscription service used by PR departments to promote digital publicity and marketing materials to the media.

According to Tim Claxton, senior product manager for the MMS group, “MMS clients use our services to manage images licensed through Getty.com, but also to organize and share their own images. We noticed that clients had growing amounts of video as part of their digital assets; it’s being used increasingly in their marketing campaigns.”

While MMS had the capability to handle video assets, its functionality was limited. “In the old system we could store video, but it had no intelligence,” says Claxton. “There was no thumbnail view, no streaming preview, and no metadata, so it didn’t give users browsing the system a good video search experience.” With the expectation that MMS customers would continue to enlarge their digital video asset base, Getty knew it had to get serious about upgrading support for video in both Media Manager and Image.net.

Claxton says that Getty very quickly turned to Nativ to help them design their solution. “We had a connection with Nativ because our development team is based in London and knew them already. There are just not a lot of consultants out there with specialist knowledge in video solutions, so it was a good fit.”

Nativ consultant Jon Folland says that the consulting company recognized that distributors like Getty would need help facing video distribution challenges that had traditionally been the purview of broadcasters. “Getty was reaching a tipping point. They had been using the internet as a distribution mode, but increasingly for their customers, the internet was becoming a viewing channel.”

Read Case Study Part II

Digital Asset Management Buzz Revolution

HONG KONG & PHUKET, Thailand & BARODA, India (Business Wire) Buzz Media (Buzz Technologies Inc.) brings together the talents of experienced professionals in the Information Technologies, entertainment and legal fields. Its Dontpirateme.com (www.dontpirateme.com) delivers not only piracy protection but also revenue and exposure maximization online, with one-of-a-kind proprietary software and systems, to make the most out of your digital assets.

Digital Asset Acquisition & Protection

The acquisition & protection of digital assets such as URL's, images, multi-media and performances.

Digital Asset Optimization

Have your content everywhere it should be and easily accessible by your fan base.

Maximize Online Royalties

With an avalanche of royalty paying content, whilst Buzz Media services focuses on negotiating the impact of illegal content with our own proprietary content tracker.

Managing Copyright in a Digital Era

The world has changed dramatically in the last 10 years, it is impossible for any individual to review copyright and deal with all the content from other people about your asset online, Buzz Media has built it's own software to deal with this issue. If there is a photo or material online that has not been properly secured, our software will pick it up and copyright it, on your behalf.

Social Media Marketing

Myspace, Facebook, Google Open Social, Facebook apps, with an audience in the billions, the revenue from this market cannot be ignored. By working with Buzz Media you will be able to maximize your return from this new phenomena.

Content Creation

Websites, fan sites, social media content, multi media content, per pay download, pay per view, mobile content. Buzz Media is a master of getting these services online and maximizing the revenue potentially. This can be a paid service or a revenue share deal.

Digital Battlefield

Unfortunately, lawyers will take a very lengthy and expensive approach litigating illegal on-line content. At Don't Pirate Me, we will take a very direct and speedy approach to protect your digital assets. Crime to most is an insurmountable issue; Don't Pirate Me however, resides in that cyber-world and has developed highly effective means to neutering these offenders.

Internet Famous

Whether it is up and coming stars or established household names, it is essential to have the ability to reign in the monster that the Internet has become, malicious content is rampant and only serves as an obstacle to your services. Through a combination of flood optimization and Internet wizardly we can bury the undesirable content for you and harness the power of the World Wide Web.

Maximum Revenue for Content

Buzz Media can deliver your content to the new market in a simple cost effective way keeping one step ahead of the pirates.

Watchdog

Deploy your own Internet watchdog. Our propriety software system that scans text, images, video and all illegal download forms, reports with a monthly summary from as little as $500 per month.

The Equalizer

Problems with Pirates? Bury them in an avalanche of legal content. Fill their servers with electronic cease and desist orders. Negate their presence on the web. Starting from $1500 per month.

The Drummer

Need someone to beat your drum? Buzz Media services will not miss a beat. You will be everywhere you need to be with every cent of potential online revenue being captured or exposure starting from $1500 per month.

The Geek

Content creation for mobile downloads, download bundles, subscribers, on-demand services, paid per-view services, search engine optimization, flash content, every geek and nerdy service imaginable at unbeatable prices.

About Buzz:

Buzz Technologies, Inc. is a convergent media company with operations ranging from infrastructure development to online retail.

The foregoing press release contains forward-looking statements based on the Company's beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company, including statements regarding the timing of the introduction of certain products. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the Company's expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which are identified and described in the Company's registration statements and periodic reports on file with the SEC, some of which are beyond the Company's control. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors including, among others, issues related to the travel and transportation industries, and prevailing economic conditions in general. In light of these risks and uncertainties, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking

Digital Asset Management Tools Run-Down

This is en example of ineffective managing your assets, a way of cataloguing. To make it successful you can use this general run-down of available cataloguing tools, or Digital Asset Management. The field is crowded and the product you choose needs to be tailored to your needs and budget. In rough order of power, features and cost:

iphoto - Comes bundled with the Apple iLife suite. The 08 version can archive thousands of pics and has basic editing functions. Category: You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat Cost $80 * you also get iMovie, iWeb, GarageBand and iDVD. Cant beat it for the price but like I say: "If you have an $80 photo library, get an $80 tool to manage it.

MS Expression - The borg takeover of this software leaves me feeling very uneasy but it was a great product as iView Media Pro. Category: Nervously pessimistic Cost: $300 As is typical of microsoft, there are about 50 different versions to choose from. Best of luck.

Extensis Portfolio - Good brand name, scalable product to allow all levels to enjoy. RAW support and a 30 day free trial. Category: Too Good to be True? Cost:$200

MediaDex - The Cumulus single user product. Dont know a thing about it but Cumulus is a very powerful DAM thats not limited to photos (or you might say, not specializing in photos). Category: Dark Horse for Starters. Cost: $80

Cumulus: A real heavy hitter, probably overkill for all but the largest companies. Category: Grandaddy. Cost: Not Sure

Aperture 2: What a laugher V.1 of this was. Dont we expect better from Apple? Well, how about this? Not only offering powerful image cataloging but also a mid range adjustment function (Photoshop lite?). Maybe trying to do too much and no server option. Anyone try it yet? Category: Getting There? There? Anyone? Cost: $200

Montala - I say Montala, you say HUH?!. How about I then say 'free"? Yeah, this may just be the future but youre going to need a code monkey to start it up (easy) and maintain it. But you can also add in functionality to customize it. All web based, so theres no install and you can use it on any machine. Category: The Future is Now Cost: You Heard Me

AS is evident there are plenty of solutions out there at really reasonable costs. If you have specific experience with any of the above (and indeed any I may have omitted) please post in the comments. There is a lot to learn here and I think for the photographer of any level its only second to having a proper back up strategy.

Geof Bowie
www.thinkfixed.com

MediaDex DAM Software

MediaDex is the entity that took over Cumulus Single User (since September 2005). Based on the Canto Cumulus Digital Asset Management technology, it is the continuation of Single User versions with enhanced functionalities (more files supported, new information fields,..) and technological improvements (in particular, MS Windows vista and Intel Mac support). Technically, MediaDex 2.0 could be considered as a Cumulus 7.1 version. Thus, it's possible to migrate Cumulus SU 5.x and 6.x catalogs.

MediaDex 2.0 is available in two versions: Standard and Professional. While the basic functionality of both programs is the same, MediaDex Professional includes advanced support for Microsoft Office documents and digital camera proprietary RAW formats. A fully functional demo of Standard or Professional version from http://www.mediadex.com/us/downloads.htm ; registration on Internet required to use full features.

Software licenses could be purchased from MediaDex website, Standard version is available for 49.95 EUR/USD, Professional version for 79.95 EUR/USD (http://www.mediadex.com/us/purchase.htm).

Interesting volume discount for purchases of multiple licenses are available; for example 10 Professional version licenses will cost 55.95 EUR/USD each instead of 79.95 EUR/USD.

SpringCM Document Management Solution

SpringCM delivers a broad set of content management functionality and is available as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

About SpringCM

SpringCM is the leader in on-demand document management and workflow. Their solution makes customers more profitable, competitive and effective with resources that accelerate revenue, reduce costs and improve content leveragability. Capture of print and electronic content, secure hosting with full-text search, routing and approval workflows, document delivery, out-of-the-box configurability and many other features make SpringCM the award-winning document management and workflow choice.

SpringCM: Company History

SpringCM was named to the 2007 list of "100 Companies That Matter in KM" by KMWorld, a leading content, knowledge and document management resource.
Their seasoned executives are industry veterans from companies such as Open Text, FileNet, Interwoven, Hyland, Stellent and others. Thanks to the executive team's leadership, SpringCM has experienced double-digit growth each quarter. In their customer base there are great name brand businesses like GE, Avon, Stratus, Comcast, Dresser Industries and Cox Communications; public sector groups like the State of Alaska; services firms such as Corefino and Pacific Crest Securities; and a host of smaller companies, all of which are reaping the benefits of on-demand ECM.
SpringCM is headquartered in San Mateo, Calif. and maintains a major regional office in Chicago, Ill. The company is backed by Foundation Capital, a premier venture company that was an early investor in leading content management companies, including Documentum and Interwoven.

Interwoven MediaBin Features

Interwoven MediaBin Features

• Automated transformations
• Patented "Content-based Image Recognition" visual search capability
• Patented "Original Image Matching"
• Patented fractal scaling
• Automatic global media syndication
• Unparalled extendability

Interwoven MediaBin Customers

Adidas, Arkema, Avaya, Boeing, Cole Haan, DuPont, Fellowes, Ford, General Mills, Heidelberg, Hilton, Home Shopping Network, John Deere, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Microsoft, New Balance, Otis Elevator, Pratt & Whitney, Retna, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, SKYItalia, Starz Encore Network, Ubisoft, and hundreds of other enterprises, museums, schools, and government agencies use Interwoven MediaBin to manage, archive, standardize, find, transform, share, repurpose, and distribute digital media assets.

Digital Asset Management with MediaBin

Interwoven MediaBin helps companies to deliver a more solid customer experience by effectively managing, distributing, and publishing the thousands of customer-facing digital assets used to their promote products and brands.
MediaBin is a leader in Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution sphere. It lets marketing teams give their global sales force and business companions instant, self-service access to current, approved marketing content — including pictures, photos, logos, presentations, CAD drawings, marketing collateral, audio, video, and others.
MediaBin speeds the delivery of brand-correct, current marketing content so that internal departments and external partners can get what they need—when they need it. Marketers can speed time-to-market for marketing campaigns, product launches, and other marketing initiatives. And the more quickly sales people can get what they need, the faster they can sell and increase top-line income.
MediaBin helps organizations raise control of their brands by providing easy access to the most up-to-date, brand-approved marketing materials. Marketing and brand managers choose which content to make available to internal employees and external partners, thereby protecting and controlling the brand more carefully.
MediaBin reduces costs associated with manual processes by automating the production and distribution of marketing content. By providing constituents with self-service access, marketing personnel no longer have to spend time fulfilling content requests from the field. For example, Presentation WorkBench makes it possible to assemble custom PowerPoint® presentations in MediaBin, using brand-approved templates. This not only saves the company finances, it also frees marketing staff to work on additional marketing activities to yield further income.

About IBM, Web 2.0 and Microsoft. Part II

In the Carestream example, radiologists don't know their instant messaging and voice capabilities are Sametime; they just see new functionality in a familiar application.

It's a message that IBM will build on, Davis said. He said the company needs to accelerate the discussion away from the "product-centric fire-hose flow of information" and direct it to "looking at customer goals and showing [Lotus] can address them with integrated products."

Showing the breadth of its tools and integration across its software is key if Lotus wants to stand out from the pack.

The setup has begun and Lotus Connections is a prime example.

"The social software is where they can claim they are first with an enterprise comprehensive solution, and that is why they are pounding at it, " said Mark Levitt, an analyst at Framingham, Mass.-based market research company IDC. "You are seeing a lot more integration with things like Quickr, Sametime, Symphony."

Experts said the integration story is being driven in part by Microsoft's success with Sharepoint Server 2007, which is one of the foundation elements of Microsoft's collaboration and real-time communications strategy, as well as an entry point into social networking tools such as blogs and wikis.

"SharePoint Server 2007 is sweeping through the industry like no other software product that I've seen since the early heydays of Lotus Notes," wrote Burton Group Inc. analyst Mike Gotta.

"IBM is taking it on the chin right now."

He said that IBM should use its arguably superior social networking tools to switch the focus away from Sharepoint.

"IBM can use Connections to compete with Microsoft by changing the focus to social computing rather than collaboration and content," Gotta said. "IBM has to do superior and native integration between Connections and Microsoft productivity tools and integrate with SharePoint as well."

Later this year, Lotus will add replication to Connections, a feature that was always described as the crown jewel of Notes.

But Lotus's challenges are a multiheaded monster.

The introduction at Lotusphere of Foundations, appliances bundled with software to support small and midsize business, and Bluehouse, a set of services available over the Internet, shows that Lotus is playing catch-up to Microsoft and its strategy of software plus services, which includes Microsoft Small Business Server coupled with Windows Live services.

Also, the company has to find a way to make Sametime stand out. This year, it will release two new versions, including a telephony version slated to ship in the second half of 2008. However, both have a list of features and functionalities comparable to those of the other players including Cisco and Microsoft, which are quickly rising to the top of the unified communications discussion. In addition, some new partnerships with Cisco and Nortel Networks Corp. unveiled at Lotusphere are identical to those Microsoft has made.

"This has become a very competitive space," IDC's Levitt said. "And IBM is looking for places where it can claim leads."

About IBM, Web 2.0 and Microsoft. Part I

January 28, 2008 IBM's Lotus Development Corp. unit has shifted its integration, social software and unified communications story into high gear as it prepares for a Web 2.0 scuffle that likely will dwarf its past e-mail clashes against Microsoft Corp.

The Web 2.0 battle will encompass many foes beyond Microsoft, including Cisco Systems Inc., and traditional telephony vendors and online giants such as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. It will also produce product and vendor options that are sure to test the strategic investment skills of IT executives who told Network World in 2007 that they view collaboration technologies as "important" or "somewhat important" to their future productivity goals.

At its annual Lotusphere show, IBM hammered away at the way it will integrate its product portfolio that includes messaging, real-time communication, and new social software and rapid application-development tools.

But compared with past editions of the conference, in which Lotus seemed to be steering the course of collaboration evolution, the company now seems to be playing from behind in many areas, including messaging, Web conferencing, unified communications and software-as-a-service, while Microsoft, Cisco and others are grabbing headlines.

But IBM has its gems as well.

The company's move last year into social software with Lotus Connections and this year's expansion of the platform give it perhaps the strongest set of tools built for corporate users in comparison with those of competitors that are working with adaptations of consumer products.

In addition, the delivery with Notes 8 of the company's open-client framework built on Lotus Expeditor and Eclipse, a container for executing XML-based application components, provides client integration. This is designed for users who want to buy and run only the components they need, dictate the pace of their adoption, and retain options to fill in any gaps with homegrown software.

In addition to Notes 8, the framework is the front end for Sametime 8 and Lotus Symphony productivity applications. It will eventually front every back-end server and service so users can get functionality a la carte while maintaining a single interface.

In addition, IBM said that integrating those same servers with other clients, such as Microsoft Outlook and partner software such as Carestream Health Inc.'s imaging tools, won't lock users into the Lotus platform and will expand its range of potential sales.

Lotus last week also announced partnerships with SocialText Inc. and Atlassian Software Systems Pty. to integrate wiki technology from each vendor into Lotus Connections.

"The most beneficial part for customers is the integration," said Dwight Davis, an analyst at Ovum. "It's the fact I don't know that I am using Quickr [content management]; it's just a plug-in to my client."

QuickBooks Pro for Mac Financial Management Solutions

QuickBooks Pro for Mac is a financial management solution for small businesses.

Store and organize your financial and employee data in one place with QuickBooks Pro for Mac. Save time on bookkeeping and stay on top of your finances with a single solution that lets you see the money coming in and going out of your business.

QuickBooks can help you understand how your company is doing, so you can make better business decisions. Track sales and expenses; invoices and purchase orders; inventory and sales tax from a single program. Getting set up and started is easy. The QuickBooks tutorial center offers guided interacted instruction to help you quickly learn key tasks.

With QuickBooks all your data is stored in one place, so you don't have to go through hundreds of files and papers. You can see everything at a glance: employees hours, customer contact information, outstanding and paid invoices, payment histories and future payments.

The data that is belong together is shown together, so you can find what you need when you need it. When you create an invoice - you enter a customer's contact information the first time and QuickBooks stores it and keeps track of how much they owe. When you receive a payment you can review the customer outstanding invoices and apply the payment to the right invoice. If you lock an expense to the customer, the next time you invoice them, you get remind of rebuild the expenses.

QuickBooks makes it easy to keep track the money coming in and money going out. It's great that my financial data works together. QuickBooks organizes your information, so it can be instantly accessed to make everyday accounting task easier.

Extensis Portfolio 8.5.1

Extensis Portfolio 8.5.1 has been released on January 28th. The new version of Extensis Portfolio 8.5 digital asset management software family is recommended for all Portfolio, Portfolio Server, Portfolio NetPublish, and Portfolio SQL Connect users.

The updated version of this digital asset management software has implemented full compatibility for users of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and also the following general performance improvements for all users:

• Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) support for all components
• Additional Raw file formats added:
  • Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EOS 40D, and PowerShot G9
  • Nikon D3 and D300
  • Olympus E-3
  • Sony DSLR-A700
  • etc.
• Enhanced metadata support and management via Adobe® Bridge.
  
• Support for saving and exporting Catalog Types
• Improved asset usage logging in NetPublish
• Additional enhancements to performance and stability

The price for Extensis Portfolio 8.5.1 starts at US$199.95. The update is free for version 8.5 users.

SCC MediaServer

SCC MediaServer is a fully integrated Text, Graphics, PDF Page, Sound, Photo, and Video storage management system, composed of an industry standard SQL relational database and incorporating free-text search technology licensed from Autonomy Corporation. Optional MediaServer modules allow to perform the following:

• management of assignments and news budgets;
• automated delivery of content to Web sites and online vendors;
• hosting of electronic Tearsheets;
• dynamic integration with Microsoft Word;
• offsite MediaServer database replication.

Access to the MediaServer database available from a standard Web browser or from the SCC MediaGrid client (for Windows and Macintosh OSX) . The SCC MediaGrid client, which is oriented at super users such as Librarians or Photo Editors, includes many powerful features made to simplify the data enhancing, data manipulation and delivery processes. Files for inclusion in the SCC MediaServer database are simply saved to one or more network folders from where they are automatically inserted and cataloged within the database. Text and preview metadata is extracted automatically during insertion and indexed in real-time for fast full text searching. Files from live wire feeds can be simply directed into one or more of these server folders for automatic insertion into the SCC MediaServer database.

Content DSI Digital Asset Management System

A widespread increase in the amount of electronic files that companies need to maintain has been given rise by the evolution of the Web and by the shift to digital print production. It quickly becomes challenging for companies to keep track of the following digital assets for use in publications, product catalogs, marketing collateral, Web sites, broadcasts, or other output with all of the different logos, photos, illustrations, audio clips, video clips, and other media.
Content DSI can help your company implement a digital asset management (DAM) system that enables you to organize digital files and support their use in multiple output media. digital asset management systems from Content DSI can help address critical business needs, such as:

• Providing a central repository for enterprise-wide digital assets
• Supporting multiple outputs from a single source
• Automating conversion to different formats and sizes for multiple applications
• Reducing time spent looking for existing assets
• Enforcing rights management for both internal and externally-licensed assets

Content DSI builds digital asset management systems on a solid Enterprise Content Management (ECM) foundation, spanning the entire process from content creation to management to delivery. This approach ensures that the system will support multi-media management from an individual to global level, allowing for more efficient collaboration among users and reducing costs.
Content DSI also offers a wide range of capabilities that can assist with the implementation of the system and the various business processes involved, such as:

• Data Analysis
• Data Conversion
• Data Repository Design
• Workflow Automation
• Systems Integration Services

Content DSI maintains partnerships with leading technology vendors to support the implementation of digital asset management systems. These systems offer robust functionality and clear upgrade paths to support future growth and initiatives.
Content DSI can also help you implement a media asset management system to help manage your digital and electronic files.

HBG Upgrades Digital Asset Management System with TeleScope Enterprise Solution

HBG USA (Hachette Book Group), one of the largest trade publishers in the U.S., has announced that it will upgrade its digital asset management (DAM) system with a solution powered by North Plains Systems Corp., a leading provider of digital asset management software.

The company plans to use the system called TeleScope Enterprise to manage rich media assets, such as Quark and Adobe InDesign files, for its base publishing business, and to integrate other content, such as audio and video, over time.

“We are streamlining workflow related to managing digital content, enabling our team to focus on creating and selling our content without extraneous processes impeding their work. In addition, as we develop new business ventures, TeleScope Enterprise will be an excellent resource, allowing us and our business partners to take full advantage of our digital content,” said Beth Ford, Chief Operating Officer of Hachette Book Group USA.

Ms. Ford added that the upgrade of HBG’s digital asset management system is one initiative in its ongoing digital strategy. This strategy includes investments in a state-of-the-art redesign of HBG’s website to be launched early next year, and its OpenBook program, which leverages technology to create online book widgets, offering readers a simple way to showcase their favorite book titles on their blogs and social networking sites without jeopardizing the copyrights of the authors.

“North Plains has a long legacy of success in providing rich media management solutions for businesses in the publishing industry,” said Hassan Kotob, President & CEO of North Plains Systems. “We’re extremely pleased that Hachette Book Group USA has selected TeleScope Enterprise to help streamline their publishing workflows, reduce overall costs, and provide foundational support for the growth of their business.”

The industry’s most advanced, feature-rich, scalable digital asset management platform, TeleScope Enterprise serves as the central repository for an organization’s digital media content, metadata and the business logic that turns content into currency. Leading organizations today rely on the TeleScope solution to provide an end-to-end digital media supply chain that supports the creation, integration and repurposing of rich media assets.

Founded in 1994, North Plains Systems Corp. is the leading provider of digital asset management solutions. Its pioneering technology, focus and vision have been recognized throughout the industry and are evident in such innovative products such as TeleScope Enterprise and TeleScope Video Manager. Utilizing North Plains’ platform agnostic approach to managing digital assets, more than 450 customers benefit from North Plains’ expertise in delivering industry defining solutions for video asset management, digital media management and distribution, centralization, workflow optimization, and virtual collaboration.

Radiance Technologies Digital Asset Delivery System

Radiance Technologies is a provider of asset delivery systems (ADS).
In April 2007 Radiance Technologies announced that it was planning to deliver a completely integrated, single platform that combines digital asset management (DAM) with its field-proven digital asset delivery system.
Tom Engdahl, president and CEO of Radiance Technologies, said:
"Radiance becomes an ever more robust and cost-effective delivery infrastructure for any high-value, asset-driven collaborative workflow through this integration with leading digital asset management products.
With this unified platform, customers not only have the ability to manage, transform and format content but they can remove the time-consuming manual tasks of delivering their ever-larger files such as video, audio, and high-resolution images while gaining greater control over distributing those assets.
The first unified digital asset management and delivery solution for immediate implementation will be announced in 2007 through a technology integration and co-marketing partnership agreement between Radiance and a leading digital asset management provider."
Radiance Technologies will integrate its TrueDelivery asset delivery software with LightBox Live, a set of flexible editing tools that enable collaboration between photographers and videographers and their customers - including print houses and editors and re-touchers at magazines, newspapers and retailers.
Radiance Technologies, in tandem with LightBox Live, virtually automates the process flow from the moment a photo or video image is shot, all the way through post-production and publishing.
Radiance Technologies enables the delivery of those digital assets to creative professionals in the collaborative environment.

NetXposure' s Advanced Digital Asset Management

NetXposure, Inc., a leader in providing focused Web applications, today announced they have extended their long-standing relationship with Adobe Systems Incorporated by completing a worldwide OEM agreement for Adobe Graphics Server and will simultaneously release Image Portal 2.0. NetXposure' s Image Portal 2.0 is a customized web application that leverages Adobe Graphics Server software to provide businesses with the capabilities of an enterprise digital asset management system at an affordable price point. "Image Portal 2.0 was designed to fill the void in the digital asset management solutions market," said Devin Donnelly, president of NetXposure. "We focused on the specific digital asset management requirements for marketing, IT and creative managers in corporations and agencies. Today we are delivering a product that provides the vital functions of an enterprise digital asset management solution without the heavy price tag."

Until now, enterprise digital asset management solutions have been out of reach for most organizations, offering extensive, yet often unused functionality. Image Portal 2.0 makes dynamic imaging and image management affordable by unlocking the value of digital assets and streamlining workflow in browser-based solution that eliminates the need for special software and frees users from platform limitations.

"Throughout our long-standing relationship with NetXposure, as both a customer and partner, they have demonstrated a deep understanding of our products and capabilities," said Shawn Cadeau, director of product marketing at Adobe Systems Inc. "Image Portal 2.0 leverages the power of Adobe Graphics Server to streamline the process of managing large image libraries."

Image Portal 2.0 provides a layer of management, control, and access functionality to an image repository. Image Portal supports XMP, EXIF and IPTC image metadata that can be searched, viewed and edited with the same interface that is used to browse, process and download images. Individual image control allows administrators to customize fields for expanded flexibility and tailor access to individuals or groups with a simple tiered structure.

NetXposure' s Image Portal 2.0 is available now in English and Japanese versions for both Microsoft Windows and Sun Microsystems Solaris with a base price of $24,995 (US) including a license for Adobe Graphics Server 2.0.

Chuckwalla: Digital Asset Management Beyond The Enterprise

Digital Asset Management (DAM) has become one of the digital content delivery industry's most familiar buzz phrases. Coming out of the enterprise database management space, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Chuckwalla, Inc. is developing Digital Asset Management technology that manages rich content across multiple communications channels.

"What Digital Asset Management has done for a number of industries is establish a difference between elements stored in a database that have value and those that do not. An asset has value," says Jon Lewis, vice president of sales & marketing for Chuckwalla.

"There are three sets of tools in the digital asset management space," Lewis continues. "There are desktop products, workflow tools, and enterprise models that are client server based." Chuckwalla develops products for the entire enterprise. "Because digital content comes in multiple formats, we have to be agnostic to all content," he says. "That's the only way to ensure that once an asset has been created it can be used over and over again."

One of the biggest problems content-owning companies and even major corporations face according to Lewis is the inability to locate specific materials once they have been created. "No one ever loses an asset," says Lewis, "but they often can't find one when they need it. And that's what asset management is all about: being able to find what you need, when and how you need it."