Streaming Media - April/May 2008 - (Page 26)

case study Dow Finds the Right Streaming Chemistry cont. The program creation interface (far left) allows users to choose from VOD, live, video conference, or digital signage output. To broadcast live presentations (near left), users go to one of the satellite uplink locations, from where the content is broadcast to approximately 80 Dow offices. session/program through the use of streaming to distribute content throughout the global environment. • Ability to segment audience—DiamondTV allows content creators to define who should view each content item, allowing them to created customized messages for target audiences. • Increased accountability and tracking—The system’s logging and reporting systems allow Dow to track viewing by content item, user, department, topic, and so on. This helps Dow measure the value and effectiveness of its content to a greater degree. • Increased scalability—The system’s modular architecture allows Dow to expand the content creation, storage, and delivery capacity at any time without having to overhaul the entire environment. approved topics likely to be of interest to large audiences within the firm • Expediting plans for expanding the content storage capacity within the system GRADUAL DEPLOYMENT AND MIGRATION Best Practices/Lessons Learned Although the DiamondTV project is proceeding well to date, the team has learned a few lessons along the way. IT INVOLVEMENT To minimize the impact on the user community, Dow is deploying DiamondTV gradually. In addition, instead of implementing a sudden change-over from the existing satellite system, Dow is using a hybrid approach including elements of the satellite system and the new streaming system. By avoiding the temptation to rush the deployment and change-over, Dow has been able to add new functionality to the environment without impacting the level of service. Future Plans In addition to the planned deployments and natural expansion of the content library, Dow expects to add new features and functionality to the DiamondTV system. Items currently under consideration include the following: • Expansion of the content storage capacity within the environment • Extension of content viewing privileges to external audiences (partners and the public) • Use of digital signage throughout Dow (powered by Starbak’s Display Engine) Dow was wise to include representatives from its IT and networking departments in the streaming project from day one. Having these resources involved early had the following benefits: • Helped streamline the decision-making process throughout the project • Paved the way for integration with internal systems and services (e.g., LDAP) • Ensured that the deployment did not infringe upon the production IP network CAPACITY PLANNING Furthermore, in 2008 Dow expects to upgrade its current Starbak INV system to the new Starbak V3—the third-generation solution from Starbak designed to support greater scalability and improved ease of use. Ira M. Weinstein (iweinstein@wainhouse.com) is a senior analyst and partner at Wainhouse Research and a 15-year veteran of the conferencing, collaboration, and audiovisual industries. Comments? Email us at letters@streamingmedia.com, or check the masthead for other ways to contact us. The rollout of DiamondTV has spurred increased interest in content creation and distribution throughout the organization. In hindsight, perhaps this should have been anticipated. For now, however, Dow is dealing with this surge in demand in two ways: • Limiting content creation to high-quality, polished content on 26 STREAMING MEDIA April/May 2008

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Streaming Media - April/May 2008 Table of Contents Beyond the Bottom Line Technology and Business Trends by the Numbers (Not So) Instant Karma MSN Autos Revs Up Video Production Dow Finds the Right Streaming Chemistry Why Video Is Changing the World A Decade of StreamingMedia.com What's Your Digital Media Strategy? Blasts From the Past: A Decade (Almost) of StreamingMedia.com Headlines Analyze That A League of Their Own: Streaming Media All-Stars Where Are They Now? Wanted: Sexy HDTV That Connects to the Internet and Services All DVRs Anystream Agility Inlet Technologies Spinnaker S3000

Streaming Media - April/May 2008

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