IBM Helps Media and Entertainment Industry Meet the Challenges of Delivering Content in the Digital Age

ARMONK, N.Y., April 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled a new software platform designed to transform the way media and entertainment companies develop, distribute and market content to an increasingly mobile and interconnected audience. In the process, IBM is helping these companies deliver everything from news, music and movies to advertising and TV programming faster, with better quality and greater cost efficiency.

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Consumers worldwide are adopting new multimedia devices at an accelerating pace. A recent IBM study showed that nearly a third of consumers now own a smartphone, while 58 percent own an HDTV and 45 percent a portable video player. Coupled with an ever-growing volume of media content is an impatient audience that wants instant access to everything. For example, the study showed that more than 40 percent of consumers want the ability to share content between devices -- porting a movie from a PC to a handheld device, for example. Faced with these facts, the media industry is conforming to a new reality: how to efficiently, securely and cost effectively produce and distribute assets and services both inside and outside of their organizations.

The new IBM Media Enterprise Framework is a customized platform that enables the combination of IBM software with that of independent software developers who build unique applications that address particular issues for clients. The combined offerings address every aspect of a media enterprise -- from content production and distribution to sales and services, marketing and business systems. This gives companies the ability to automate tasks that were previously done manually while reusing and optimizing their existing IT infrastructures to respond more nimbly and thrive in an increasingly complex consumer marketplace.    

The new framework builds upon decades of IBM experience working with media and entertainment industry clients such as the BBC, one of the largest broadcasting organizations in the world, and Trinity Mirror plc, one of the UK's largest newspaper publishers; as well as the ProSeibenSat1 Group one of the largest media companies in Europe which is tapping the capabilities of the IBM Media Enterprise Framework as part of its pan-European digital platform to enable the delivery of TV programming to multiple platforms.

Framework Supports Five Key Business Areas in Media and Entertainment

The new framework addresses the challenges to the five industry business domains unique to the media and entertainment industry. These business domains include: Content Production, Content Distribution, Sales and Service, Marketing, and Business Systems.

Within each of these business domains, the IBM Media Enterprise Framework is designed to help media and entertainment companies immediately embrace the most current methods of content development and distribution, including support for the electronic devices that bring this content alive for audiences, and all of the business processes and requirements that support these transactions. It is also designed as a dynamic infrastructure that can easily adapt as these methods and devices change. Centered on the five key capabilities required by almost every media and entertainment company, these new technologies include:

- Multi-channel enablement: Delivering a personalized customer experience and creating new revenue generating opportunities with a broad spectrum of multi-channel focused application solutions including visual design, user experience and complex application development.

- Business process transformation: Optimizing the production and distribution workflow (orchestration and automation) of digital media content throughout an enterprise, creating a flexible 'media aware' infrastructure.  

- Business analytics and optimization: Integrating data providers and in-house sources to reveal timely and actionable business insights to enhance decision making about market pursuits, packaging and pricing offers and operational efficiencies and effectiveness.

- Media, metadata & information management: Helping clients to capture, manage, store, preserve and deliver data and unstructured content, establishing a holistic and trusted view of information regarding media assets and intellectual property across the enterprise.

- Infrastructure Management & Security: Secures and optimizes performance across all assets, networks, systems and channels.

"IBM has extensive experience working with media and entertainment industry clients from around the globe to enhance their production and distribution processes and to integrate and optimize their business support systems," said Steven Canepa, IBM General Manager for Global Media and Entertainment Industry. "We are bringing that expertise to a comprehensive integrated framework that provides clients the agility they need to succeed in today's dynamic media marketplace."

The IBM Media Enterprise Framework is the software technology backbone that makes a wide range of media and entertainment solutions possible by helping clients to build an integrated platform for all of their operations based on industry standards.  This new framework utilizes elements of IBM's entire software portfolio including WebSphere, Rational, Tivoli, Lotus and Information Management products while leveraging the full range of IBM server and storage products and the industry-specific offerings and consulting expertise of IBM Global Business Services.  Additionally, it supports the broad set of independent Software Vendors that address specific application requirements.

Today's announcement represents another addition to IBM's leading portfolio of industry solutions and frameworks. Industry frameworks provide a configurable platform to accelerate deployment of business solutions. They extend IBM's service oriented architecture (SOA) middleware with industry-specific capabilities and specially designed process templates. IBM industry solutions and industry ISV solutions build on the value provided by these industry frameworks to deliver a unique, end-to-end solution for each client.

For more information on the IBM Media Enterprise Framework or for details on how IBM is helping clients and Business Partners to make smarter, faster decisions, visit: www.ibm.com/software/industry/

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SOURCE IBM