This looks interesting to me. Bet this turns out to be a really profitable investment for SUNW. JDN
Sun Microsystems Takes Minority Interest in the Bulldog Group to ProvideInnovative Solutions for Digital Media Management and Storage
Agreement Includes Equity Investment and a Seat on Bulldog's Board
Of Directors
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to the rapidly accelerating data management requirements of digital media customers, The Bulldog Group Inc. and Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) today announced that Sun has made an equity investment in Bulldog, a privately-held content management software company. The non-exclusive deal, which complements Sun's strategy of providing managed storage networks, includes a significant financial investment as well as a seat on Bulldog's Board of Directors. The companies are also discussing future plans for joint marketing, sales and development initiatives.
Since its inception in 1991, Bulldog has developed a deep understanding of the data management requirements of the digital broadcast market and a reputation as a leader in the emerging content management market. Bulldog enables organizations such as Sony Pictures, Fox Digital and Open Interactive (British Interactive Broadcast) to store, search, distribute and efficiently manage large volumes of digital media assets over an enterprise network. The combination of Bulldog's software and Sun's reliable, scalable storage solutions will facilitate the ongoing development of innovative applications for media, entertainment, broadcast and interactive broadcast markets, as well as publishing, retail, financial services and telecommunications.
"Sun is uniquely positioned to provide enterprise customers with end-to-end content management and distribution technologies," said Janpieter Scheerder, president, Sun Microsystems Network Storage. "Bulldog has leading, customer-proven technology that fits well with Sun's vision for making massive amounts of data manageable and available on a network." Scheerder will take a seat on the Bulldog board of directors.
The deal strengthens Sun's current relationship with Bulldog. Both companies are already working closely to integrate and optimize their technologies targeted to content management and media industry requirements. The integrated Sun StorEdge(TM) Media Central platform and Bulldog content management solution will provide complete content management, storage management and streaming video functionality, making this solution for digital media management and audio/video distribution powerful and attractive to enterprise customers.
Bulldog software and Sun StorEdge Media Central platform provide Java(TM) technology-based tools and Java APIs. Thus third parties can easily develop applications to run on top of the joint solution. The result will be the availability of a broad set of flexible solutions enabling media customers to architect their digital operations and generate new revenue opportunities.
"We are thrilled to have Sun Microsystems as both a technology partner and investor," stated Chris Strachan, CEO of The Bulldog Group. "Sun's endorsement is significant not only to the growth of Bulldog, but also as recognition that content management is a strategic business decision with a proven return on investment. Our organizations share technical compatibility and a common vision to deliver complete storage and content management solutions which are crucial to the continued expansion of digital commerce."
About Bulldog
The Bulldog Group Inc. is the leading provider of enterprise content management software and consulting services. Bulldog helps content-rich enterprises realize a higher return on their creative and technology investments through customized solutions that streamline production. The Bulldog Group can be found on the World Wide Web at www.bulldog.com.
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