MCNC Partners With Sonic Foundry to Provide Classroom Technology to K-20 Community

MADISON, Wis., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MCNC is connecting K-20 students throughout North Carolina through a pilot partnership with Sonic Foundry, Inc. (Nasdaq: SOFO), the recognized market leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management. As part of its 25th anniversary celebration, MCNC has increased its service offerings to the educational community of North Carolina by adding Mediasite to the list of cost effective services available on the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), their flagship advanced application network.

NCREN is one of the nation's first statewide education and research networks. It provides broadband communications technology services and support to K-12 school districts, higher education campuses and academic research institutions across North Carolina. MCNC offers the users of the NCREN network technology tools and services that guarantee equal access to learning and provide a future-proof technology network that is the foundation for change and innovation in North Carolina's educational systems.

Introducing Sonic Foundry's Mediasite EX Server into the existing family of NCREN-supported network applications allows participating institutions the benefits of a scalable webcasting and content management infrastructure for their Mediasite Recorders. The K-20 community of North Carolina has the unique opportunity to choose between connecting their Mediasite Recorders to their own internal infrastructure that they maintain on site, or to contract with MCNC to provide such services.

"MCNC is quickly becoming a national model of what a comprehensive K-20 network can be. As MCNC continues to grow, we look for opportunities to provide the best services to our customers at the best prices. Working with Sonic Foundry has allowed us to provide Mediasite infrastructure in a fashion that leverages our network for optimum innovation and pricing," said Tim Poe, Senior Collaborative Technologist at MCNC. "Through our partnerships with community colleges, universities, and K-12 schools, North Carolina is engaging in some of the most progressive K-20 collaboration in the country. Our Mediasite infrastructure service is a shining example of what can be accomplished through forward-looking partnerships."

"For more than a quarter of a century, MCNC has been committed to fostering partnerships among academic, research, government and business communities. Using the Mediasite platform to build those partnerships is a natural fit," said Sean Brown, vice president of education at Sonic Foundry. "MCNC has already seen intense interest in its Mediasite offerings in a wider spectrum of the K-20 space than we see in other parts of the country by virtue of the dramatic cost savings afforded by the Mediasite/MCNC partnership model."

Trusted by more than 750 colleges and universities, the patented Mediasite webcasting and content management system quickly and cost-effectively automates the capture, management, delivery and search of rich media presentations that combine audio, video and accompanying graphics for live or on-demand viewing.

About MCNC

MCNC is an independent, non-profit organization that employs advanced networking technologies and systems to continuously improve learning and collaboration throughout North Carolina's K-20 education community.  MCNC provides advanced communications technologies and support services that enable access to 21st century learning applications and offers the opportunity to improve teaching, learning, research and collaboration among North Carolina's education community. For a quarter century, the 501©3 non-profit organization, MCNC, has operated a robust, secure, exclusive communications network that has connected the institutions of the UNC System, Duke University and Wake Forest University to each other, and through advanced research networks such as Internet2 and National Lambda Rail, to the world.  For more information, please visit www.mcnc.org.

About Sonic Foundry®, Inc.

Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO, www.sonicfoundry.com) is the global leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management, providing enterprise communication solutions for 1,800 customers in education, business and government. Powered by Mediasite, the patented webcasting platform which automates the capture, management, delivery and search of lectures, online training and briefings, Sonic Foundry empowers people to transform the way they communicate. Through the Mediasite platform and its Events Services group, the company helps customers connect a dynamic, evolving world of shared knowledge and envisions a future where learners and workers around the globe use webcasting to bridge time and distance, accelerate research and improve performance.

Product and service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of Sonic Foundry, Inc. or their respective owners.

Certain statements contained in this news release regarding matters that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Because such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, uncertainties pertaining to continued market acceptance for Sonic Foundry's products, its ability to succeed in capturing significant revenues from media services and/or systems, the effect of new competitors in its market, integration of acquired business and other risk factors identified from time to time in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Sonic Foundry, Inc.