SCTE Cable-Tec EXPO 2009

SeaChange Readies Multi-front Arsenal for Looming Multi-platform Battle

| Oct 22, 2009 | Digital Media Infrastructure | Show Update

| Analyst: Yoav Schreiber

Current Perspective: Positive
Vendor Importance: Very High
Market Impact: Very High

Event Summary

October 19, 2009 -- SeaChange is introducing a range of products at SCTE Cable-Tec 2009 in Denver, CO as part of its content delivery network (CDN) line-up, helping broadband operators optimize the delivery of on-demand content to multiple screens. SeaChange is unveiling and demonstrating four products at the show: Universal Resource Manager, available early 2010; RS-DVR Solution; AssetFlow Content Management System, available this year; and Flash Memory Streamer (FMS) 2500.

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Positive on SeaChange introducing its line-up of content delivery network (CDN) solutions at the SCTE Cable-Tec in Denver, because the strategy further extends the company’s established Axiom On Demand content delivery platform to solve the scale, complexity, and cost challenges inherent in multi-platform content delivery. SeaChange’s CDN proposition enables broadband operators to extend their video on demand (VoD) investments to meet the requirements for storing, distributing, and delivering content assets whose continued growth is driven by consumer behaviors such as time-shifting, place-shifting, and user-generated content (UGC) consumption. However, this bold proposition will require SeaChange to go beyond technical demonstrations, especially as SeaChange faces the daunting task of taking on multiple (and mostly larger) rivals while convincing customers that the extension of Axiom into these new areas is in fact a logical, and safe, bet.

• Vendor Importance: Very high to SeaChange, because the company needs to enhance its contribution to the industry’s thought and technology leadership by demonstrating solutions that address the future (but fast approaching) requirements for multi-platform content delivery. SeaChange is articulating a logical extension to its VoD roots with a CDN proposition to optimize content delivery while reducing cost and complexity, by unveiling software intelligence products for network resource and workflow management as well as higher-performance video server products for network DVR and on-demand streaming.

• Market Impact: Very high on the digital media infrastructure market, primarily because of SeaChange’s incumbency in the video server market, which affords it a relatively high perch from which to influence the architectural investments of its (primarily cable) customers. Yet, by expanding into new areas, SeaChange is also opening new competitive flanks with companies such as BigBand, Camiant, Cisco, Ericsson, Harmonic, and Motorola. These rivals will need to respond by mobilizing an offensive strategy for their own CDN proposition, as well as a defensive strategy questioning the technical merits of SeaChange entering their turf while leveraging their greater resources to “out-gun” SeaChange.

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Perspective

Competitive Positives and Concerns

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