KIT Digital based in the Czech Republic has launched an integrated multiscreen solution with the help of IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative.
According to Kit Digital, the combination of these products from Smarter Commerce, which support workflows, business rules and rights management, with its own front-end technology, gives the platform the scalability required to deliver multiscreen video services to tens of millions of consumers. It also highlights IBM’s growing activity and presence in broadcasting, moving beyond merely being the provider of the hardware underlying cloud based services and video storage. For Kit Digital it will build on existing successes in OTT, such as the recent selection by satellite operator Sky Deutschland as a technology partner to expand the reach of its Sky Go "TV Everywhere" solution to new platforms and devices. Sky Go enables subscribers to watch Sky's content across multiple screens including iOS devices, the Web and Xbox 360.
The multiscreen solution now available is the result of an ongoing partnership between KIT Digital and IBM, using the backend software developed under IBM's Smarter Commerce initiative, which provides tools and services to help businesses bring new levels of automation to marketing, sales and fulfillment to secure greater customer loyalty, and is part of IBM's Media Enterprise Framework. Increasingly IBM is seeking such partnerships with providers of key elements of video technology to step up its presence in the broadcasting arena. Acquisitions can be expected.
