Wallingford, Conn. – July 12, 2011 –  Enterprise IP video leader VBrick Systems today announced support for a new generation of IP video capabilities that seamlessly integrate with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Lync™ 2010 Unified Communications platform.  The offering combines Lync’s rich collaboration tools with VBrick’s unparalleled ability to manage and deliver live and on-demand IP video to a user’s desktop.  Today’s news marks the latest step in VBrick’s unified communications product and go-to-market strategy, having earlier announced complete video integration with Microsoft’s Office Communications Server (OCS) and SharePoint products.

The expansion of VBrick’s offerings comes at a time of rapid growth in enterprise unified communications.  According to a May 2011 study from ABI Research, the global unified communications market experienced 22 percent year-over-year growth in 2010 and is set to reach $2.3 billion by 2016.  IP video—and streaming video in particular—is an essential component of this quickly growing market, as it enables organizations to more effectively access video content while at the same time using familiar collaboration tools (instant messaging, desktop sharing, VoIP, etc.) to share information and complete projects—all regardless of employees’ locations.  By combining the rich media that users need with familiar technologies they use every day there is greater organization-wide adoption of unified communications, which ultimately enables disparate teams to be more productive.

VBrick’s solution is designed to integrate the collaborative broadcast capabilities, personalization and scalability of VBrick’s next generation enterprise media management system, VEMS Mystro™ with the familiarity of the Lync user Interface.  With VBrick Video Buddies™ users can extend the Lync “one-click” experience to access video broadcasts.  Users can instantly see what content is available, including channel names and program titles.  This tight integration enables users to watch and collaborate on all types of video content from inside their Lync client.  For example, several financial analysts on Wall Street can each watch breaking news on a company’s earnings from multiple sources, while at the same time collaborating to finalize the details of a merger offer.  At any time they could escalate the conversation into a Lync voice call or video conference.  Likewise, a mayor could broadcast an emergency preparedness plan overview with staff across the city while, at the same time, incorporating the staff’s feedback via instant message.