Wallingford, Conn. – Oct. 4, 2010 – Enterprise IP video leader VBrick Systems today unveiled the first streaming video solution that is fully integrated into Microsoft’s Office Communicator* and SharePoint products.  This integration enables users to collaborate with co-workers by implementing rich media into the familiar unified communications technologies they use every day (instant messaging, desktop sharing, VoIP, etc.).  Today’s announcement brings the power of one-to-many video collaboration to every desktop, and marks the latest in a series of milestones that have positioned VBrick as a leader in establishing streaming video as a critical enterprise collaboration technology.

VBrick’s solution for embedding streaming video into unified communications is comprised of two new products: the OCS Streaming Gateway and the VBrick Enterprise Media System (VEMS )-SharePoint Integration Module.  The OCS Streaming Gateway combines the power of streaming video with the real-time collaboration capabilities of Office Communicator.  The VEMS-SharePoint Integration Module equips users to discover and share video-based content from within any SharePoint site.  Underlying this unified user experience is the VBrick platform, which performs all the video-specific functions regarding user access, content management, scheduling and network distribution.   The Microsoft OCS and SharePoint servers do not require any intervention or additional programming.

“The unified communications market is one of the most lucrative and exciting sectors in IT, with both vendors and end users scrambling to capitalize on the proven efficiency, collaboration and cost-savings benefits inherent to the technology,” said Mark Gilbert, research vice president, Gartner.   IP video streaming is beginning to prove itself to be a critical content type and powerful collaboration tool within and beyond the enterprise, and the innovative technology vendors that are aggressively positioning video streaming as an essential component of unified communications are—we believe—poised to capitalize on the growth of this market.”

Today’s announcement is a continuation of VBrick Systems’ leadership role in integrating streaming with the broader communications experience,  having delivered in 2009 a complete VEMS integration with the IBM Lotus Sametime unified communications platform.  VBrick Systems has led the industry in delivering video solutions that enable live and on-demand video-based collaboration with a large and geographically dispersed audience. 

Click. Stream. Collaborate.
VBrick Systems’ customers can leverage video streaming to create entirely new collaboration approaches and realize much greater business impact than using any single communications approach.  Video streams are accessed within Microsoft applications as Video Buddies™.  Video Buddies are represented by presence icons or “jelly beans” that users can add as a contact to their OCS-enabled Microsoft or third-party applications.  Clicking on a Video Buddy icon provides instant access to streaming video content and the ability to simultaneously engage with other users via chat, VoIP or Live Meeting.  This capability enables enterprise users to adopt entirely new, and much more effective workflows. 

For example, Video Buddies can deliver live TV channels to the desktop for those employees who depend on timely information about world events. Top-level managers of large organizations can quickly and easily generate organization-wide executive broadcasts.   Public safety and surveillance personnel can pull down live video streams, and use various collaboration tools to determine the best course of action dictated by the information.  Generators of rich media content (HR, Marketing, Training, etc.) can publish this content to SharePoint and have it easily searched and retrieved by their intended audience.

“CEOs, department leads and everyday enterprise users increasingly need more powerful tools to communicate within their organizations, or around the world.  The power of video for personalized, effective interaction is profound.  The ability to bring live video communications to all employee desktops, or have them instantaneously share rich media content, enhances a cohesive company culture and cooperative learning.” said Doug Howard, Chief Executive Office, VBrick Systems. “Having secured multiple pre-orders from enterprise and government organizations already, we’re confident the solution completes the unified communications equation for our customers.”

Availability
VBrick’s OCS Streaming Gateway and VEMS-SharePoint Integration Module are currently available.

*EDITORS’ NOTE: Microsoft OCS now known as Lync

About VBrick Systems, Inc.
VBrick is the leader in Enterprise IP Video, with over 6,000 corporate, education and government customers and 60,000 installations worldwide.  VBrick solutions work over standard IP networks and the Internet to enable the creation, publishing and distribution of rich media content. Our comprehensive streaming solutions are used in a wide range of live and on-demand applications including meeting and event broadcasts, employee collaboration, distributed learning, digital signage, TV distribution, and video surveillance.  Headquartered in Wallingford, CT, VBrick’s products and services are available through industry-leading value-added resellers.  For more information, visit www.vbrick.com

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