Harris Corp. Signs Agreement with Edgenics, Inc. to Provide Integrated Media Asset Management and Distribution System
Oct 15, 2004 12:47 PM
Harris Corporation (www.broadcast.harris.com) today announced a contract with e-learning service provider Edgenics, Inc. (www.edgenics.org) that will enable the
delivery of e-learning services utilizing rich media content, including
interactive and file-based video. An infrastructure will be built to include
content creation, media asset management, rich media networking and distribution
systems, all integrated for a simple and seamless end-user experience. According
to the agreement, Harris and Edgenics will collaborate on system design and
construction, joint sales and marketing, and joint development of new
intellectual property. Harris was chosen because of its breadth of technologies
in broadcast communications, including NetVX video networking technology for
high-speed connectivity; Invenio enterprise-wide collaborative content
management; and DataPlus WAN-based media management for real-time capture,
search, retrieval, and scheduling of digital assets.
In an early phase, Edgenics will focus on the delivery of live interactive and
file-based video programming to rural K-12 educators in the Southern Delta
region of the United States. The creation of Edgenics’ next-generation
communication and collaboration solution is part of an $11 million program
funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to extend continuing
education to geographically isolated regions. The USDA-sponsored program serves
55 counties in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas and is designed to help
teachers and teachers’ assistants in rural areas achieve certification in math,
science, foreign languages and other disciplines that would otherwise require
intense in-class study. By enabling teachers to gain certification through
media-rich distance learning, rural school districts can better retain their
teaching staffs and help ensure students in the Delta receive the same quality
instruction as those in metropolitan communities. In addition to serving
academia, Edgenics’ services are also available to students and give them the
opportunity to take university-level courses and begin earning college credit
while still in high school.
“Our collaboration with Harris creates an ideal combination of design expertise
and powerful multimedia management capabilities that will create the technical
foundation for a variety of government and commercial education and training
programs,” said Robert Dansby, chief executive officer of Edgenics, Inc.
“Distance education has become critical to expanding people’s skill sets in an
era when civil and governmental employees are frequently separated from physical
learning institutions. By working with veteran technology companies like Harris,
Edgenics is rapidly eliminating this physical barrier to education.”
Harris’ media asset management and content distribution technologies will
provide Edgenics and its customers with instant access to the educational
content they need when and where they need it. The completed infrastructure will
use collaborative content management, and WAN-based media management to enable
the real-time capture, search, retrieval and scheduling of digital media assets,
including video and other rich media.
“We’re extremely pleased with our close cooperation with Edgenics. This
relationship plays to our strengths in designing, provisioning, and supporting
end-to-end content management and distribution systems for service providers
that want to deliver large quantities of rich media,” said Jim Denny, vice
president and general manager, networking and government solutions, Harris
Broadcast Division.
About Edgenics, Inc.
Edgenics is an e-learning services company that utilizes advanced
communications, digital video and Internet technologies to provide innovative
educational courses and services. Edgenics implements its solutions by working
with leading technology partners. Edgenics has implemented a unique business
strategy in the e-learning space to provide educational services to customers in
the government, corporate and higher education sectors. For more information,
visit www.edgenics.org.
About Harris Broadcast Communications Division
Harris Broadcast Communications Division is one of four divisions within Harris
Corporation, an international communications equipment company focused on
providing assured communications services for government and commercial
customers in more than 150 countries. One of the world’s leading suppliers of
broadcast technology, Harris Broadcast Communications Division offers a full
range of solutions that support the digital delivery, automation and management
of audio, video and data. For more information, visit www.broadcast.harris.com.
