In today’s global business environment, it is imperative that colleges and other organizations communicate properly. One of the chief ways to communicate in the internet age is through video. “Without video, organizations risk losing relevance in today’s world. Video isn’t a fleeting trend – it’s at the heart of how we communicate every day,” said Tammy Jackson, vice president of marketing and communications at Sonic Foundry. Jackson spoke to RewardExpert about using Sonic Foundry’s Mediasite solution for colleges and organizations’ video needs.
Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Sonic Foundry
Sonic Foundry’s Founding
Madison, Wisconsin-based Sonic Foundry has been in business since 1991 and initially sold media editing products. It acquired its flagship Mediasite solution in 2001. Mediasite, a spinoff from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, has been a blockbuster product. According to Jackson, it is used by more than 4,900 customers in over 65 countries. Because of its global nature, Sonic Foundry has offices around the world, including Japan, China, India, the Middle East, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
What is Mediasite?
While Sonic Foundry is the name of the company, Mediasite is its product and brand. “Mediasite is a comprehensive enterprise video platform that allows you to capture, publish, search and manage all your videos in a secure and dynamic online portal,” explained Jackson. She adds that the product is completely scalable and automated and contains powerful in-content search capabilities and analytics.
Mediasite customers can be broken down into three core categories: universities, businesses and healthcare organizations.
Mediasite for Higher Education
Many college professors use Mediasite to capture lectures on video, which can be shared with students to enhance learning. “They use a personal capture software called My Mediasite to create short videos for micro learning and active learning,” said Jackson. Professors can also record collaborative learning sessions. In addition, there are interactive features like in-video quizzes, chats, polls and more.
“The powerful analytics show exactly who is watching what and when, which allows instructors and trainers to see what content is resonating the most and plan effectively for future video needs,” stated Jackson.
Mediasite for Business
Many corporations are Mediasite customers, as well. “Businesses use Mediasite to stream, record and manage everything from town halls to earnings calls and corporate events to training sessions and videoconferences,” explained Jackson. “We have customers who use Mediasite to record their user conferences so people who are unable to attend can still gain knowledge from the keynote and show sessions.” The videos help keep employees around the world on the same page and updated with everything from changes in compliance procedures to changes in products. In addition, Mediasite offers a video-conferencing capture software called Mediasite Join that automatically records and manages everything said and shown during collaborative sessions and can help cut down on costly travel for meetings.
Mediasite for Healthcare Associations
Healthcare associations are increasingly turning to Mediasite to videotape training sessions, patient information sessions and more. Jackson said that healthcare is one of the fast-growing parts of Sonic Foundry’s business. Additionally, many healthcare associations are using Mediasite’s technology to record complex training and medical procedures. The technology allows the complex procedures to be captured from various angles.
Solutions for Every Business
While many large organizations use Mediasite, the company has options for small businesses, as well. “We have solutions that are suitable for any room or budget, so whether an organization is looking to start a wide-scale deployment or wants to start small with one room, our solutions are flexible and scale as they grow,” said Jackson.
A Dedicated Team
Mediasite’s 50 top customers have been with the company for more than a decade. Jackson attributes the staying power to Mediasite’s dedication to customer service. “We are constantly innovating our Mediasite technology and we have an outstanding customer support team,” she said. That team includes a global network of engineers and sales staff – many of whom answer questions from clients on a daily basis. There are also several global events held each year.
Mediasite’s Next Frame
With nearly two decades of servicing customers with Mediasite, Sonic Foundry is continually trying to improve its product. New features include live chats, social video and more to create a more immersive learning experience. In addition, the company just launched a new partnership with IBM Watson. “New integration between Mediasite and Watson’s speech-to-text technology gives our customers deeper insights than ever before,” said Jackson. “It takes our video search to the next level, creating full content search for everything said and shown in many languages. Plus, Watson helps to create cleaner video transcripts, something especially important in higher education.” To find out if Sonic Foundry’s Mediasite is right for your organization, head to www.mediasite.com.