Survey Reveals That Fortune 1000 Companies Are Ready to Adopt TV-Quality Streaming Media Solutions
Companies Cite Faster Communications, Global Reach, Increased Sales, Faster Time to Market and Cost Savings as Top Benefits of Networked Video Communications
June 28, 1999 10:59 AM
PLACERVILLE, Calif., June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a survey conducted by PEREY Research & Consulting, executives at Fortune 1000 organizations are ready for an improvement in their communications technologies. More than half of the survey participants said they believe their messages are not getting out effectively and that there is significant room for improvement. While video communications is on the rise, four out of five companies said that they would use video more if they had a solution that offered a TV-quality experience to any Web-connected site over existing data networks. A complete summary of the report titled, "The Role of Video in Business Communications," is available online at the SightPath(TM) Web site: sightpath.com, at the RealNetworks(TM) RNWK site: real.com and at the Intergraph Computer Systems site: intergraph.com.
"With close to 104 million actively-networked multimedia PC users in the enterprise, the time is ripe for streaming media solutions that can overcome quality and network congestion issues," says Christine Perey, president of PEREY Research & Consulting. "Our survey shows that the enterprise market is closer than ever to accepting video communications for three broad applications: corporate communications, training and employee communications. The reasons are varied and obstacles remain, but the direction is very clear -- video usage in the Fortune 1000 market is on the rise."
Perey's study, which was commissioned by SightPath, Inc., a leader in solutions for TV-quality video to the Web, RealNetworks, the recognized leader in streaming media, and Intergraph Computer Systems, the recognized leader in digital media workstation products and services for Windows NT, queried Fortune 1000 executives on the following areas:
-- Current communication technologies used and their effectiveness -- Market and organizational trends helping to drive current and future video adoption -- Existing barriers and obstacles to widespread adoption -- Current interest and need for Internet-based video solutions
Fortune 1000 interviewees told PEREY Research & Consulting that the leading applications for Internet-based video communications are:
-- Supplying corporate messaging that has greater impact on employees, partners and customers -- Delivering a more consistent message or set of messages -- Delivering a consistent message to multiple-language audiences -- Accelerating changes in or fusion of corporate cultures -- Improving delivery of all types of training
"To date, mainstream video adoption has been limited by a number of key reasons, including the high-cost of standard distribution methods, the poor quality associated with video distributed over the Internet and the network congestion resulting from sending large video files over the thin pipes of the Wide Area Network," said Jim Ricotta, founder and CEO of SightPath, Inc. "Technology is finally available to corporate users that address all these key issues. It is clear that the networked PC has become the predominant information delivery channel for business users, and this survey validates the market demand for solutions that enable businesses to communicate with the impact of television while leveraging the convenience of the PC and the low- cost and ubiquitous reach of the Internet."
"We're seeing rapid adoption of video usage by corporations who want to communicate faster and more effectively with their employees, partners and customers," said Brett Goodwin, Product Unit Manager at RealNetworks. "As we enter the Internet-era, rich media will become pervasive in everyday business communications."
About PEREY Research & Consulting
PEREY Research & Consulting provides an array of services and products to public and private companies who have a specific interest in network- distributed multimedia content and technologies, and their application for enhanced personal or professional communications. The firm has extensive core competence in desktop conferencing and video communications products, related services and applications. For more information, visit perey.com.
About RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. RNWK , based in Seattle, WA, is the recognized leader in the streaming media market. It develops and markets software products and services designed to enable users of personal computers and other consumer electronic devices to send and receive audio, video and other multimedia services using the Web. RealNetworks can be found on the World Wide Web at www.real.com.
About Intergraph Computer Systems
Intergraph Computer Systems' (Huntsville, AL) businesses -- Visual Computing, Enterprise Solutions, and Intense3D -- reflect its core competencies of Windows NT expertise, systems engineering, systems integration, world-class service and support, and 3D graphics technology. The company develops, sells, and supports affordable, high-performance Windows NT- based graphics workstations, PCs, and servers using the latest Intel processors, and advanced 3D graphics accelerators for the creative and technical desktop in markets such as digital media, animation, content creation, publishing and prepress, visual simulation, graphics arts, and traditional CAD, MCAD. Intergraph's enterprise solutions include systems integration, consulting, hardware, networking, and interoperability products for workgroup to enterprise performance for NT migration, enterprise management, Internet/intranet/extranet, and enterprise communication. Intergraph Computer Systems is the world leader in 3D graphics technology and the sales of 3D graphics accelerators for Windows NT. Intergraph Computer Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of Intergraph Corporation INGR . For more information about Intergraph Computer Systems, call 800-763-0242, or visit the company's Web site at www.intergraph.com/ics/.
About SightPath, Inc.
Headquartered in Waltham, Mass., SightPath, Inc. is transforming the Internet into an effective distribution channel for business television. Through its innovative Internet technology developed at MIT, it offers products and services that enable business users to create Private Internet Video Networks without the need for significant new investments in hardware or network bandwidth. SightPath's solution, which includes the RealG2 server from RealNetworks, brings TV-quality business content on-demand to the desktop, uniting television with the Web, to create a powerful new business communications medium. For more information, visit SightPath at sightpath.com.
SightPath is a trademark of SightPath, Inc. All other companies or products listed herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE SightPath, Inc.
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