Google Video for Business Gets Competition from IVT PrimeTime

Google's Google Video for Business application is getting a new challenger in IVT, which plans to launch a media content and management system for businesses Sept. 23, according to a source.

Called IVT PrimeTime, the software platform lets users search, store and share video content. Moreover, content creators and viewers may interact using social networking tools in PrimeTime.

Businesses are increasingly turning to video, cranking out hours upon hours of video content for use as training tools or even as an efficient way of letting CEOs and other executives share information with employees.

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The trick is managing this content and cataloging videos so users can find them and share them with others who have similar requirements or goals.

However, most proprietary enterprise video solutions cost too much money, are too hard to implement or flat-out just don't play nice with other software infrastructure built in-house.

With PrimeTime, IVT seems to have created a platform that provides a one-stop shop for employees and others with an interest in a company who wish to upload, view, rate and review content.

PrimeTime even lets users set up "channels" to help employees, customers, partners and others navigate among hundreds or thousands of videos and view them easily.

As with Google's Google Video application, users find content by searching for keywords, browsing through categories or channels, or selecting content that an administrator has suggested.

Unlike Google Video for Business, which Google launched Sept. 2 as an SAAS (software as a service) application for Google Apps Premier Edition, PrimeTime is available as an SAAS or on-premises installation.

IVT claims PrimeTime can manage Webcasts and video content created by virtually any video system and can automatically convert content from other video formats to Flash so it can be viewed on any operating system, including Windows, Linux and Mac OS 10.

The platform, which will be launched at Streaming Media West in San Jose, Calif., uses Web services APIs to integrate with third-party portals and applications, and can be custom-branded for each company's needs.

IVT, which also makes a publishing platform for live and on-demand Webcasts, a tool to allow Webcasting from multiple locations simultaneously, and a self-service Webcasting system, sells its software to Cisco Systems, AT&T, IBM and Oracle, among others.