In On The Ground Floor

A sense of fear ran up and down the spines of both Pat Taylor and Kenny Kremm. Still, the two friends smiled nervously at each other and decided to take the biggest risk of their professional lives. The decision to leave behind well-paying, stable jobs as salesmen/technologists at a storage hardware manufacturer was not an easy one. However, Taylor and Kremm were committed to starting their own integration company. "We were both making six-figure incomes. We were certainly tempted to be satisfied and watch our kids play soccer on the weekend," recalls Taylor. "But, we're both in our early forties, and if we were ever going to start our own company, this was the time."

After founding Proactive Technologies in January 1998, The Dallas-based storage VAR is projecting gross sales of $5 million in its first year. Paramount to Proactive's success is that the company is in on the ground floor of what it believes is a burgeoning media asset management market. Proactive Technologies' installations allow companies to track and manage all of their media, from documents to video files. As hardware and network capacities increase, Proactive Technologies believes media asset management applications grow exponentially. "We expect our revenues to double for the next two years. We will hit $5 million in 1998 and we are planning to reach $10 million in 1999 and $20 million in 2000," says Taylor. "If we reach those numbers, people will take notice. Media asset management is our ticket. It is the reason we are so committed."

What Is Media Asset Management?
Enter the keywords "media asset management" on an Internet search engine and you will be lucky to get one hit. The application is new, which is why Taylor considers his company to be a pioneer. Media asset management is a quantum leap beyond document and image management. Document imaging applications allow companies to manage all of their documents. Media asset management allows companies to manage all of their media. Documents are media. But, media also includes photographs, audio files, video files, presentations and other forms of digital communication.

"It takes a lot of creative time to build a PowerPoint presentation or record a digital video; that media becomes an asset. And reproducing that asset is very costly to companies," says Taylor. "Digital media is becoming more and more important to large corporations. When I tell companies that I can manage all of their media, I get their attention."

Media asset management initially started in the publishing and prepress markets. Typically, these markets managed more graphic and video files than traditional business markets. As computer storage and processor speed increases, users in many markets are creating media other than documents. As more media is created, users will need a method to store and access it. Taylor and Kremm are betting their business that this trend will continue.

Custom Storage Designs
Document images require little storage space compared to other forms of digital media. As a result, media asset management solutions require a lot of storage. A typical configuration begins with a one- to two-terabyte RAID (redundant array of independent disks) system. Proactive Technologies builds its own RAID systems from other vendors' components. The RAID system is magnetic storage and provides instant access to data. Data that is less frequently accessed is migrated from the RAID system to a Sony CD jukebox. It is not uncommon for Proactive Technologies to have up to six terabytes of nearline storage (either SONY Advanced Intelligent Tape or jukeboxes) in a media asset management solution. The recording and accessing of data in jukeboxes is controlled by iXOS Software's Jukeman Software.

At the heart of organizing all data in a media asset management system is Imation Publishing Software's Media Manager Software. Media Manager organizes all stored files in the form of a relational database. Users can enter characteristics about a file in 14 data entry fields. For example, a large company created a video to present to its board of directors detailing fourth quarter performance in 1997. Defining that video file may be done with keywords such as "1997," "fourth quarter," "financial performance," and "report." Users can immediately access all files which meet their keyword search criteria.

Search Locally Or Globally
Media asset management allows employees outside of corporate headquarters to access files through the use of a Web interface. All of the files stored in a company's relational database are assigned a certain level of security. When employees log on to their company's Web site to access files, they have to enter passwords. "We can authorize users to do a great many things or we can restrict you from doing anything," comments Taylor.

For example, as part of an ad campaign, a large company's internal marketing department designed a one-page newspaper ad. Six months later, the marketing department decided to run a variation on its newspaper ad and wanted to access the original ad copy. An employee assigned to locate the original ad file searched the company's relational database. After entering keywords, the search netted 15 different thumbnails as potential hits. The user can then preview each hit and select the appropriate media asset. "Users see thumbnail pictures and not just file names," states Taylor. "The company spent time creating media for its ad campaign. By having instant access to the media, the company doubled the return on its initial investment in creative time. If the company could not locate the image, it would have to recreate it."

Selling To The "C" Boys
Media asset management is more than a glorified document imaging system. Installing a media asset management system changes a company's current business model. And, many companies are not quick to change the dynamics of how they do business. "It is a difficult sale and requires a strategic pitch to the right people within a company," says Taylor. "In fact, our sales methodology is somewhat proprietary because it is a big part of our success."

While Taylor is not comfortable in detailing every aspect of his company's sales pitch, he did acknowledge that it is not about selling technology. In many cases, a VAR makes a sale through a company's IT (information technology) director. With media asset management, Taylor says VARs have to get the "C" boys - CEO, CFO, CIO - to buy into the concept. "They have to understand how media asset management will affect every aspect of their company. It is a strategic decision and not a technology decision," comments Taylor.

With installations ranging in price from hundreds of thousands to a few million dollars, the decision to implement media asset management is a costly one. Merely cataloging all of a company's media files can take hundreds of hours. "When companies buy into media asset management, they realize they will have to invest a significant amount of time and money before they see anything in return. They have to understand that these installations may involve hundreds of billable hours," says Taylor. "It's another reason that this sale is difficult."

Getting In On The Ground Floor
After hearing his pitch, Taylor says most VARs agree the media asset management market has tremendous potential. However, very few are delving into the space. "Once a person has taken a risk to become a VAR and has enjoyed some success, it is difficult to get that person to step outside a ‘comfort zone' and invest in a new market," comments Taylor.

"Media asset management also requires VARs to have a varied skill set. You have to address issues in networking, hardware, operating systems, and software customization," says Taylor. "This is a new market. Some VARs will wait and see how the market grows before they enter. Right now we are pioneers, but we will be an acknowledged leader when this market explodes."