Signiant Expands Media Exchange for Digital Content Sharing Among Media and Entertainment Organizations of All Sizes

BURLINGTON, Mass., Nov. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Signiant today announced the next-generation version of Signiant Media Exchange™ (MX), a private cloud solution designed to enable media-industry content providers to share large file-based media assets efficiently with their broader partner ecosystem — without requiring IT involvement on the part of users and without sacrificing the strict requirements for security that are mandatory in the media and entertainment industry. Building upon the browser-based access already supported in MX today, the new release now enables users to automate the delivery of content directly to their PC or Mac® in much the same manner as an RSS feed, thereby reducing the steps required to obtain anticipated content that is transferred regularly. The direct-to-the-desktop application will be offered at no additional charge to new and existing MX users, and the new release will be commercially available at the end of this quarter.

"Signiant's Media Exchange has been an important part of the drive to support file-based workflows for our content aggregation process," said Benjamin Davitt, director of data management at Point 360. "With the new direct-to-the-desktop delivery, we are now able to automate the receipt of content updates arriving from multiple content partners, all in one application. Combined with the reliable, fast and secure delivery we have come to count on as a Signiant user, this new capability is a major time-saver."

MX is deployed by a wide range of media and entertainment companies — from major studios to global broadcasters to regional postproduction houses — to support the exchange of file-based media content with both internal users and external partners. Unlike general purpose file-sharing applications in the public cloud, such as Dropbox and YouSendIt, the expanded MX is a private cloud solution designed specifically for the business needs of media content providers. The movement of valuable media assets is auditable and controlled by the content owners, and users send large media content where it needs to go in a manner that is optimized, efficient and accelerated. In addition, users can exchange content with other users, systems and applications, regardless of location and size of digital assets. As content is transferred, the IP-based Signiant Acceleration Protocol maximizes network efficiency and all MX content exchanges are protected by the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) 3.0 cryptographic protocol — the same security model used for authentication, authorization, and encryption of Internet transactions such as personal banking and Web shopping.

"Many of Signiant's users are media companies involved in the creation, aggregation and distribution of content. Often, the companies on the distribution side are smaller broadcasters, Web portals or mobile providers that might lack full-time IT resources but still need a secure and easy-to-use method of exchanging large content files with their business partners," said Rick Clarkson, Signiant's vice president of product management. "These are precisely the users for whom we designed the expanded version of MX. And now, using MX is as easy as downloading the application from their business partner's MX server, and then subscribing to the desired 'channels' provided by all their studio, network and content provider partners."

MX is based on the same enterprise-strength file transfer technology as Signiant's system-to-system solutions, which are designed for batch transfers of large numbers of media files and require software agents to be installed and managed on both the sending and receiving ends. It provides the same security and efficiency, but also enables interactive, user-initiated transfers without requiring an agent.

"By adding MX to our Signiant repertoire, we've covered the waterfront for any clients or partners that need to have their content delivered electronically. From a business perspective, Signiant is boosting our market reputation in the post industry by giving us the flexibility to meet the requirements of any-sized business partner," said Craig Clark, CEO, Roundabout Entertainment Inc. "Signiant is a huge selling point for our business."

About Signiant
Signiant automates, accelerates, manages, and securely controls the movement of high-value digital content within and between media and entertainment organizations. Signiant solutions go far beyond simple transport to streamline file-based workflows and facilitate the integration of IT infrastructure with media technology. From content creation through cross-platform distribution, Signiant software can enable new business models, reduce costs, and integrate with existing investments. Headquartered in Burlington, Mass., with development facilities in Ottawa, Ontario, Signiant connects tens of thousands of enterprises and media professionals in more than 50 countries. More information is available at www.signiant.com.

Photo Link: www.wallstcom.com/Signiant/MediaExchange.zip

SOURCE Signiant