Three vendors in the television industry received awards from the technology-analysis firm Frost & Sullivan at a banquet held Jan. 12 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The awards were given in a range of categories, from "CEO of the Year" to "Telecommunications Service Provider Company of the Year," and honored both individuals as well as companies.
Joe Kennedy, CEO of Omneon Video Networks , a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based manufacturer of video servers, received the Digital Media Enabling Technologies CEO of the Year Award. The award citation states that the company's business has increased more than 150 percent during Kennedy's tenure as CEO and praised the participation of Omneon in standards-setting organizations SMPTE and the Pro-MPEG forum. Kennedy was not at the banquet to accept the award.
Proximity Corporation , an Australian-based developer of asset management systems, received the Digital Media Applications Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award. Cited for its scrappy entrance into the competitive asset management niche, Proximity now holds five percent of a market in which the biggest supplier holds only 12 percent. Accepting the award was Luke Tristram, president and CEO of Proximity.
"This validates what we're doing," Tristram said. "We're the best-kept secret in digital asset management."
Receiving the award for Digital Media Applications Product of the Year was the Telestream , MAP media collaboration system, which lets a widely dispersed creative team work on and share the same media files. Telestream MAP product was built on the company's experience with its popular FlipFactory digital media transcoding system, which is now incorporated into many manufacturers' asset management and distribution products. Dan Castles, president and CEO of Telestream, accepted the award.
Recognizing that broadcasting and television production is a relatively small niche for a technology company, David Heppe, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Telestream Inc., said that he was grateful for the support the company has received from the television industry but maintaining the growth means a broader view.
"We're doing very well in the broadcast market and are looking to move into other markets," Heppe said.
In all, Frost & Sullivan honored 20 companies as part of its "Excellence in Information & Communications Technology Awards." New York-based Frost & Sullivan provides market consulting for the high-technology and industrial markets.
