BIOS: Technology Means Business

Cisco Systems has announced the Cisco Digital Media System, a new emerging technology that enables organisations to use business-quality, dynamic video and audio to easily connect customers, employees, partners or students anywhere, anytime.

Solutions in this new digital media systems technology category will apparently extend digital media into new markets and compelling applications for real-time and on-demand broadcasting, to enable organisational transformation by putting the human face back into business.

The Cisco Digital Media System allows users to create, manage and deliver live and on-demand digital media in various formats to multiple wired or wireless connected devices. The solution utilises the power of an Internet Protocol (IP) network as the platform to enhance productivity and business operations by improving communications and collaboration capabilities.

The Digital Media System was developed in Cisco’s Emerging Markets Technology Group, an internal venture team that focuses on innovation in adjacent markets beyond Cisco’s traditional networking audience.

“While the digital media explosion has taken off in the consumer world, businesses are just beginning to realise the potential of video. The Cisco Digital Media System, combined with the power of the IP network as the platform, allows organisations to move to a business environment where compelling interactions and experiences are created and shared,” said Marthin De Beer, vice president of Cisco’s Emerging Markets Technology Group. “As the worldwide leader in networking, Cisco is making significant investments in new markets like business video, enabling new ways for organisations to connect and collaborate.

“I’m pleased to see Cisco enter the digital media market,” said Ira Weinstein, Senior Analyst and Partner for Wainhouse Research. “Cisco’s strong reputation within the enterprise, combined with its ability to address the entire digital media value chain from content creation to delivery, should help pave the way for the adoption of digital media communications within many organisations.”

Taking advantage of the network as the platform for digital media delivery provides customers in many industries with the latest tools for communication, collaboration, marketing, sales, education and information retention. For example, an organisation can easily broadcast a CEO keynote to a widely dispersed audience and make the event immediately available for on-demand viewing.

Other potential applications include financial services, retail, Government, education, healthcare, as well as safety and security. “As one of the most ambitious and forward-thinking universities in the United Kingdom, we needed to provide our student body with access to rich media,” said Simon Furber, network manager of Brunel University. “Because our students use, live and breathe digital media every day, the university sought a solid platform that could support the creation and delivery of this capability, The Cisco Digital Media System was just the right solution we've been looking for. It is incredibly scalable, with a great user interface and is simple to use.”

The Web-based Cisco Digital Media System takes advantage of Cisco’s Service-Oriented Network Architecture (SONA), an architectural framework that helps enterprises evolve existing infrastructure into an Intelligent Information Network that supports new IP strategies, including service-oriented architecture (SOA), Web services and virtualisation.

The Cisco Digital Media System comprises three product lines:

- Cisco Digital Media Encoders: The Cisco Digital Media Encoder 2000 is a studio-level appliance with multiple channel support. The Cisco Digital Media Encoder 1000 is a portable encoder that can be used wirelessly for single-channel encoding. Both encoders support live and on-demand encoding in many formats.

- Cisco Digital Media Manager: The Cisco Digital Media Manager manages and publishes digital media and provides tools for users to add and archive media; assign metadata and keywords; preview content and manage workflow; and schedule instant and future deployments. Cisco Digital Media Manager integrates with Cisco Application Networking Services technologies, including Cisco's Application and Content Networking System and wide-area content engines, for business-class digital media deployment across the network.

- Cisco Video Portal: The portal allows users to browse, search and view digital media content. It features a customizable program guide and search functions; personalized playlists and featured lineups; advanced player controls, full-screen playback; and a usage reporting system. It is also fully integrated with the Cisco Digital Media Manager and supports Windows Media, RealPlayer and Flash file formats initially, with QuickTime and MPEG4 following later this year.

The Cisco Digital Media System is available now and is list priced starting at $133,000 USD. For more information on the solutions, visit www.cisco.com/go/dms. Cisco and its partners provide a lifecycle services approach to deploy and support the Cisco Digital Media System, along with end-user and partner financing packages. For additional information on partner programs, please visit www.cisco.com/web/partners/index.html.

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