Microsoft Introduces Interactive Media Manager to Simplify Digital Content Life Cycle

At the 2007 National Association of Broadcasters conference (NAB2007), Microsoft Corp. introduced Microsoft^® Interactive Media Manager, a next-generation digital content management solution that combines digital workflows and media application integration with a collaborative front-end environment. The solution, an extension of Microsoft Office SharePoint^® Server 2007, is designed specifically for the media and entertainment industry, including film and post-production studios, broadcasters, game developers, publishers, and advertising and marketing agencies.

“As the digital era continues to alter the industry, we’re seeing the walls between previously disparate functions beginning to crumble as the strengths of IT are increasingly relevant and needed in the creative side of the house,” said Gabriele Di Piazza, managing director for Media & Entertainment in the Communications Sector at Microsoft. “Interactive Media Manager is a solution that spans those two formerly distinct worlds, automating the gaps that exist in the workflow process to create a fluid handoff between tasks and individuals.”

Interactive Media Manager is a server-based product that provides a Web-based interface for accessing and interacting with media files. The solution provides powerful tools for quickly building complex workflows, monitoring the performance of those workflows and facilitating the reviews and approvals in the workflow process by pushing tasks and forms directly to the recipient’s Microsoft Office Outlook^® inbox or to an RSS feed. Interactive Media Manager supports Internet Explorer^®, Firefox and Safari on Windows^® as well as Mac OS.