11:15 AM - 12:30 PM
Session B:
Technology Infrastructure for the Delivery of Broadband Entertainment
As we move into a ubiquitous broadband universe, the delivery of entertainment, information and communication services to the consumer requires an ever growing and scalable technological infrastructure. Without the development and enhancement of broadband technologies, the entire future of the entertainment industry will be in question. Creating the new "Digital Hollywood" is not possible without the framework to support the structure itself. The products and services that will redefine technology require an infrastructure capable of supporting bandwidth intensive applications. Much of it is here today, but just as much is to come. In this session we will explore the capabilities of the systems in place, understand what kind of content we can deliver, as well as investigate what alternatives the production community has in reaching its marketplace.
Jeffrey Pressman, Vice President, Business Development, iBlast
Tom Sauer, Director, Business Development, SkyStream Networks
Mehmood Merali, Chief Technology Officer, Media.net
Jay Fausch, Sr. Director, Strategic Marketing, Alcatel Broadband Networking Division
Jay Goldin, Director of Business Development & co-founder, Digital Fountain, Moderator
JAY FAUSCH: Jay is Senior Director of Marketing at Alcatel's Broadband Networking Division in Raleigh, NC, where he is responsible for leading the company's worldwide strategic marketing efforts focusing on broadband access and DSL. Prior to joining Alcatel, he held senior positions at Lucent, Paradyne, Racal Data Communications and Westell Technologies. Jay is a DSL Forum Ambassador and is Chairman of the DSL Forum's Marketing Committee. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Duke University and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jay is an acknowledged expert on wireline broadband access and a frequent speaker at industry conferences.
Jeffrey Pressman - Vice President, Business Development, iBlast: Jeff is responsible for business development activities of the company, including relationships associated with distribution of iBlast-enabled receiving devices and with developing content services for the network. Jeff previously worked at The Walt Disney Company in the corporate strategic planning group. He was responsible for analyzing and executing strategic investments and long- range planning for business units including The Disney Store Online and the domestic and international merchandise licensing businesses. Before Disney, Jeff was an associate with Amerindo Investment Advisors where he handled private equity investments in emerging technology companies. Before Amerindo, he was vice president of finance for "U.S. Now," a start-up online news and information service.
Mehmood Merali, Chief Technology Officer, Media.net: Mr. Merali drives the product development process and network operations at Media.net, overseeing the development of strategic solutions for the deployment of a global high-speed network, a high-performance server infrastructure, and proprietary production software applications. He has over 20 years of experience in network and software development in various industries, including high technology, manufacturing, retail and entertainment. Mr. Merali is a leader in his field, providing technical solutions to complex business problems, and integrating those solutions to long-term business opportunities. Prior to joining Media.net, Merali was Vice President of Information Systems & Technology for InternetConnect, a provider of private data networks for small and medium sized businesses. The company employed its national ATM network to offer services such as digital subscriber lines (DSL), virtual private networks, and Web hosting. Prior to InternetConnet, Mr. Merali was Vice President of Information Systems and Technology for SoftNet Systems, Inc., a provider of high-speed data over a variety of broadband media. At SoftNet, he led a team of systems engineers, network engineers and software developers, providing management with key reporting and analytical tools, and developing a strategy to enable data sharing with common vendors and cable affiliates. At Technology Solutions Company, Mr. Merali was a Senior Manager tasked with building a state-of-the-art customer service and self-management system for ISP Channel. The resulting integrated and customized systems brought explosive growth, with the ISP Channel expanding its customer base from 800 to 18,000 customers. Previously, Mr. Merali held the position of Senior Manager of Information Technology for the Government of Alberta, Canada, where he led a large staff in managing data centers, all operating on a 24-hour basis. An acknowledged expert in his field, Mr. Merali has presented papers and spoken at several international conferences, including presentations to the Oracle Applications User Group, the International Help Desk Institute, the University of Michigan and the Quality Assurance Institute. Mr. Merali served a 2 year elected term as member on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Information Processing Society, and was Chairman of CIPS Day of Discovery public relations campaign. A graduate of the University of Alberta, Mr. Merali is also an ICMCC Certified Management Consultant.
Jay Goldin, Director of Business Development & co-founder, Digital Fountain:
Jay co-founded Digital Fountain with Michael Luby in 1998. He has extensive experience in business and organizational development as a management consultant with the Pacific Rim Consulting Group in Hong Kong and China. Jay also co-founded Alyanza Infosystems (Nasdaq: NIKU) in 1997. He received his BA in Economics in 1991 and MBA from Stanford University in 1998. Digital Fountain offers dramatically new solutions to the challenge of media and data delivery. Traditional methods sacrifice time and bandwidth to ensure accurate data delivery. Digital Fountain's scientists and engineers have invented an advanced mathematical approach that transports digital film, video and music without concern for loss, delay, or data order. With Digital Fountain, media companies can deliver DVDs, film dailies, streaming video and other types of digital media faster, more reliably and with greater control than was previously possible on IP networks.Tom Sauer, Director Business Development, has over 12 years of business and technical experience in the video and IP content delivery industry. This includes both business and technical expertise in the areas of image and signal processing, satellite data delivery, and video-over-IP. Sauer is leading SkyStream Network’s business development efforts in the area of strategic partnerships and new market segment development for video-over-IP and general broadband content delivery. He comes to SkyStream from RealNetworks, where he was the manager of a Broadband Systems Group and Professional Services Group, intent on driving strategic broadband infrastructure for streaming media, interactive TV, and integration efforts. Prior to RealNetworks, Sauer co-founded a scientific software company, Khoral Research Inc. focused on image processing, signal processing and multispectral data analysis for commercial and DOD agency application areas. He held various positions at Khoral, most recently as President & CEO. Tom has a Masters degree from The University of New Mexico.