Abraham, a media and entertainment executive, and Volpi, a respected technologist bring Ooyala's Board of Advisors to a total of 6. They will provide direction and expertise for the company as it works to gain a foothold in the competitive online video platform industry. Ooyala said it has a working relationship with one of IBM's partner programs, but offered no other details.
Steven Abraham is IBM's global leader of media and entertainment industry and IBM's Global Business Services. He has worldwide responsibility for the group's global sales, revenue and profit. He was a key member of a group that collaborated with Xerox’s famed Palo Alto Research Center to pioneer products and services that helped form the foundation for today’s digital consumer services. About his new role on the advisory board Abraham says, "It is exciting to join a talented group of engineers and business managers who are passionate, committed, and focused on innovating and differentiating themselves as we embark on the next generation of online video. I look forward to being an integral part of Ooyala's success."
Mike Volpi joined Joost, the global web video service in 2007, as Chief Executive Officer. He's responsible for corporate strategy as well as for all business operations. Prior to Joost, Mike was a 13-year Cisco veteran and star player and was at one time considered to be the heir apparent to Cisco's current CEO, John Chambers. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President & General Manager for the Routing and Service Provider Technology Group, leading Cisco's overall strategy for the Service Provider market. He also served as Chief Strategy Officer, where he was responsible for Cisco's corporate strategy as well as business development, strategic alliances, advanced Internet projects, legal services, and government affairs. He had close ties with Joost's founders, Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom. Friis and Zennstrom also founded Skype, where Volpi has served on the board of directors.
In her news article, Gaines wrote, "The tie-up with Ooyala is a good move for Joost, whose technology has had hiccups throughout its many generations and revamps, from P2P app to plug-in to Flash video site. Joost content providers include Warner Bros. and investors CBS and Viacom and it also has extensive music video and anime collections... One advantage over competitors such as Hulu is that quite a bit of Joost’s content is available outside of the United States."
This is not only a good move for Joost, but a significant development for Ooyala. The company says the majority if its new customers are adopting its Video as a Service model (VaaS). According to Ooyala, such partnerships will help drive its business to profitability later this year.
- Ooyala Expands Board of Advisors - Yahoo! Finance
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- VaaS: Video Services – What are the Components Required for a Video Solution? - Ooyala blog
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About Ooyala
Ooyala is a video technology company that provides an integrated platform enabling the delivery, management, and monetization of high quality video content. Committed to providing the most accessible and comprehensive video solutions to companies worldwide, Ooyala's solution is easy to use, quick to deploy, and customizable. Its modular and distributed framework allows Ooyala to integrate seamlessly with legacy systems and scale to millions of concurrent users. Ooyala's partner portfolio includes 1000s of media companies including Bebo, TV Guide, Glam, and Electronic Arts. Free trial Backlot accounts can be created by clicking here: http://www.ooyala.com/products/install. For more information please visit www.ooyala.com. Ooyala is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with sales offices in New York and London.