Microsoft Demonstrates Vision for Simplifying the Digital Supply Chain

LAS VEGAS, April 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At the 2010 National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB) Show, Microsoft Corp. is introducing a set of new solutions for digital content management, supply chain management for media, editorial collaboration and business intelligence. Delivered for key industry partners such as Ascent Media Group LLC, KUOW, ProSiebenSat.1 Group and Sport1, these solutions enable media companies to simplify and streamline their processes, offering greater integration and insights into their digital supply chain.

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Microsoft is presenting the next iteration of its service-oriented-architecture-based Digital Content Management (DCM) Framework based on the upcoming release of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. This framework provides enhanced content management and collaboration, advanced workflow capabilities including powerful search technology, and enhanced metadata management and business intelligence for deeper insights into the production process. Key products integrated in the solution include FAST Search for SharePoint, .NET Framework, and Silverlight (including Deep Zoom capabilities to provide advanced media asset visualization).

At NAB, Microsoft will showcase a number of media business management solutions designed to help media companies improve their advertiser and audience relationships, maximize yield, use their resources more efficiently, and gain better business insight. With the help of industry partners, Microsoft Dynamics AX is combining its supply chain management best practices and industry expertise to offer an end-to-end operational system for media companies. The Media Business Intelligence Framework is a new solution that provides an extensible data model and a set of configurable reports addressing the basic business intelligence needs of broadcasters. With the Microsoft Solution Framework for Editorial Collaboration and Mobile Journalism, based on SharePoint Server 2010 and Silverlight, journalists and editors can use Microsoft Office 2010 to support editorial planning, content re-use, resource management, event scheduling, output planning, and status tracking across teams and sites.

The initial result of the strategic alliance between Microsoft and Ascent Media, AERO (Advanced Enterprise Resource Operation) was built on Microsoft Dynamics AX technology to meet the specific needs of the media and entertainment industry. The system creates a seamless management system that streamlines and integrates the entire digital media supply chain process from pre-production all the way through distribution, incorporating processes from work orders and asset management to resource scheduling, tracking and invoicing. AERO provides media and entertainment companies with a scalable, fully integrated solution, helping them smoothly transition to the digital age while offering a customized alternative to expensive IT system upgrades.

"With this Microsoft alliance, Ascent Media amplifies its commitment to service excellence by offering a world-class resource planning solution specifically designed for the media and entertainment industry to help studios, broadcasters, as well as entertainment companies, bring digital content to the marketplace in a faster, more cost-efficient way," said Jose Royo, CEO of Ascent Media Group. "AERO enables content owners and distributors to focus on the creative elements of the production, post-production and delivery of their content, thus enhancing core media production and distribution capabilities and creating new revenue-generating opportunities."

Microsoft also works with its industry partners to address the specialized needs of media organizations through solutions built on Microsoft Dynamics AX:

• Computer Generated Solutions launched Media Asset Management and Advance Scheduling for media production. Built on Microsoft Dynamics AX, the solution streamlines the flow of digital and physical products through their operation by managing the entire post-production life cycle.
• Media Aspects/S4M is showcasing ad sales and program management solutions, which help maintain and manage advertiser-agency relationships and allow for flexible billing and bundling, revenue forecasting, and reconciliation.
• Avanade, Hitachi Consulting Corp. and Streamline Solutions are demonstrating how Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM solutions deliver the needed functionality for an end-to-end Microsoft-driven business management solution.

Sport1, formerly DSF Deutsches SportFernsehen GmbH, worked with Microsoft partner S4M to build a broadcast business management solution based on Microsoft Dynamics AX. "The solution helps us to manage a growing business while keeping costs down," said Arne Anders, director of Finance and Administration at Sport1. "It gives us the business insight to make informed decisions. The bottom line is, compared to previous solutions, Dynamics Media has helped us to cut labor and IT cost by 15 percent, and it will enable us to scale our business with much improved efficiency."

"At KUOW Public Radio, we are constantly looking for ways to better serve our audience, and improving our production systems is part of this effort," said Jenna Montgomery, director of Online Services, KUOW Public Radio. "The Microsoft Solution Framework for Editorial Collaboration and Mobile Journalism has helped us to get started quickly and addresses many of the challenges that we see in our daily work: developing stories, managing resources, finding relevant content and people, and planning the output across channels. It also helps our reporters pull content from older stories (notes, interviews, contacts) to use as context for breaking stories, adding to the depth of our coverage."

More information about Microsoft's presence at 2010 NAB Show is available at http://www.microsoft.com/media.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.