Special Sponsored Section: Executive Predictions

Alex Kazerani, CEO, Edgecast Networks
In 2010, the shift from traditional television to online video will continue to drive unprecedented demand for web content. Wireless network upgrades may also make this the year when mobile streaming finally takes off. To predict surging demand, however, is too easy - so I’ll focus on two powerful trends I see emerging in the industry: the increasing role of telecommunications carriers and the rise of HTTP streaming.

Telecommunications carriers are well-equipped to quickly make global connections, but few are equipped to cache vast amounts of data in cities around the world and deliver it efficiently. To that end, many carriers currently partner with - or resell services from - pure-play content delivery networks. This has enabled them to generate additional revenue on existing infrastructure by offering new, higher-margin, value-added services. Those services are more aligned with the web of today: delivering high-definition video, user-generated rich media content, and ensuring worldwide availability of mission-critical web applications. During 2010 this will accelerate, with several big carriers asserting themselves aggressively in the content delivery space.

The second trend relates to a critical decision companies face: deciding which format to use for streaming content. While proprietary protocols pack significant feature sets and enjoy broad compatibility, they also have serious drawbacks. On the other hand, HTTP streaming offers lower cost, universal compatibility (including mobile devices), and many of the other advantages of proprietary formats. During 2010, HTTP streaming will take a significant share of media delivery away from proprietary formats.

2010 is sure to be a year of exciting innovation in our industry. I’m excited to be a part of it, and all of us at EdgeCast wish you the best for a fulfilling year.

Larry Kless, President and Founder, Online Video Publishing [dot] com
Today, virtually every aspect of video has become a business. Content producers, media companies, SMBs to major corporations all have the same opportunities to build their businesses as online video publishers.

What is important for video publishers is the value that video brings to ROI. It won't be enough for companies to just deploy video solutions. They’ll need to engage in the communities where their audiences are through a variety of social networks. Conversation tools like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube will help marketers extend their reach and promote their brands. Video is really becoming part of people’s strategy and part of the ecosystem of their overall marketing plan.

So what did we learn from 2009? Yes, video is big and keeps on growing. But if 2009 proved anything, it showed us that the power of video and social media can change the way we experience world events, like Presidential Inaugurations or breaking news stories from citizen journalists seen first on YouTube or Twitter.

2009 saw a shift in how we do business from the personal to the virtual. From the boardroom to the living room, to the mobile device that will soon do everything -- so it's no surprise that video has become the vehicle for our conversation.

More than any other year, 2009 saw the rise of video one of the most effective communication mediums. In 2010, the focus will be on high quality content, storytelling, and business models that will continue to emerge to foster that growth.

Nancy Li, CEO, NeuLion
This year was one of exceptional growth in the IP video marketplace; an evolving viewer experience and increasing desire for on-demand video entertainment anywhere, at any time.

Looking toward 2010, we believe there is a fundamental paradigm shift in the way people watch television and consume sports and entertainment. It’s about giving the viewer control, providing interactivity and communication in real time while watching a program that creates something captivating and sticky for the user.

We maintain a clear focus on delivering interactive video centric entertainment, news and sports around the world to the TV, PC and mobile devices via the Internet – providing a universal platform that connects viewers globally.

Our partners such as the National Hockey League, National Football League, ESPN 360, a host of International clients and other variety networks have seen the success of connecting their audience through IPTV.

Consistent with market trends, broadband is now available in an increasing number of homes, online video viewership is up, and there is a proven demand for ethnic, sports and special-interest programming.

When it comes to new media, it’s about being nimble in a revolutionary and dynamic environment. Coupled with the goal of providing a high-quality service, we are looking to bring a deeper value to the special content being offered.

As users continue to migrate to the web and other forms of digital media, we are very excited about the new opportunities ahead. It’s happening today and will continue to evolve through 2010 and beyond.

Noam Lovinsky, CEO, Episodic
Over the next year, media will become an ever more pervasive part of our lives. Mobile devices will create new viewing minutes throughout the day and high quality video content will stream to us in any form we desire. There will be no difference between the monitor on your desk and the television hanging on your wall. Through vast scalable IP networks, broadcasters will finally deliver the shows we love and the sports we live for to our desks, our living rooms, and into the palms of our hands.

Sounds familiar right? It should be. We’ve all been saying the same thing for the last three years. Our industry is barely 15 years old. We just got our learner’s permit, we still can’t drive without adult supervision and we’re certainly not old enough to drink…legally. These are the very early days of online video.

This year we will begin to see the promise of online video materialize and here at Episodic we’re thrilled because we see it directly in our pipeline. Major broadcasters are just starting to move away from homegrown solutions and they’re looking for technology platforms on which they can build a sustainable business. That’s right. A real, revenue generating, sustainable business on top of online video.

It’s this shift that’s going to deliver on the predictions we’ve been making for years. We will be able to consume content wherever and however we like. Media will become truly pervasive, but chances are, we’ll have to start paying for it.

John Milburn, President, CDNetworks International
In 2010, Internet content providers will continue to improve their ability to profitably monetize their offerings. This implies continued downward price pressure for traditional caching and streaming CDN services, and CDNs will thus continue to push for lower costs from their suppliers. Successful CDN companies will expand their partnerships for technology, sales and support channels, and best of breed delivery of global traffic. They will also significantly improve their products, services, and flexibility to address the specific needs of their customers. There are clear opportunities for niche players serving very specific needs in profitable small markets, particularly for industry-specific turnkey services, where there is always an opportunity to become the knowledgeable, trusted partner. Some CDN providers will expand into new technology areas, particularly application acceleration and new streaming and video delivery technologies, creating very competitive markets where there have previously been a small number of providers. We expect that mobile delivery of video and web content will become increasingly important, as devices and usage patterns make this simple, usable and reliable. We further believe that higher quality global delivery of information, particularly in developing countries, will become more critical as the international marketplace grows in importance in the face of slow growth in the US.

Ahmad Moradi, PhD, Chairman and CEO, NetStairs.com, Inc.
When it comes to technology, we are always in the state convergence. Pushing the boundaries into new imaginative frontiers, blending the creative science of digital art with skilled programming, founded on managed hosted networks (closed or cloud) have or will force brands to re-examine online marketing and advertising against traditional routes.

As industry statistics point to an increased growth rate of total online ad spending to 47% (by 2012) from its current 17%, the idea of change will shift our industry's matrix. We must quantify and equate "Time" into our branding matrix. The question remains: What is the value of "brand presence" measured by duration of time?

In 2010, trends will impact the need for the introduction of new alternatives to current online matrixes such as CPM. The answer lies somewhere between CPM and premiums paid by brands for 30 second TV ads. Furthermore, the vast and ever growing diversity in consumer electronic devices will influence companies to rethink their online presence model demanding a wider level of audience reach without restrictions to the mobile network providers, CDNs and/or media centric device manufacturers.

The online media experience in 2010-11 will reach beyond the Tweet. Time delayed text will gradually shift into live, interactive focused groups that will provide brands with face to face interaction. Reaching first hand (real time) while interacting with target audiences will become the defining role for a new monetized matrix beyond CPM, impression count & cost-per-click accountability.

Michael C. Newman, CEO, Accordent Technologies
A lament in the streaming industry over the last decade has been: "It's hard to tell who does what." This refrain applied to vendors, many of which had mature technology but didn't know where best to apply it, as well as to users, whose organizations were struggling to decide how to best manage online communications.

While I think most of us would have preferred to avoid the economic environment of the last 12+ months, I do believe that it has put us on a much needed path to clarity. Among the vendors left standing, you will see very few that claim to do everything in the hopes of happening upon a way to top line growth; instead, you will see a stable of companies that have increased their focus and differentiation, established the value of their products and services in a few key verticals, and made themselves much more accessible to their target users.

We've also seen organizations restructure to provide clearer ownership over webcasting and unified communications to eliminate overlap and waste caused by internal power struggles. And most importantly, we've seen clearer visions emerge for adopting, growing, and measuring the success of these online communications initiatives.

As this trend towards clarity continues in 2010, watch for better and closer alignment between not only vendors and customers, but also between vendors as technology partners. Vendors will look to round out our solutions - not by diluting our own offerings - but by partnering with similarly focused and differentiated companies.

Brad Pumphrey, President and Founder, Eastbay Media
With the close of 2009 and the economic meltdown craziness largely behind us, it's on to 2010. We've survived this far, so now what? Our market is still very alive and it's well served. However, on the technology front, there is a lot of progress yet to be made. Historically, our industry has always been fraught with compromises: Which format? Which delivery method? Which network? It's never been easy, but we've come a long way. The Player Wars of the past decade are over. Flash came along with the secret weapon of cross-platform ubiquity and won the battle, right? The catalyst of these wars has always been the search for the Streaming Holy Grail - the "one file, any device, any network" solution. We've seen this search played out many times - battles won and lost, but never quite settled.

2010 will bring further promise that our search is not in vein, and our wars may not be over. Several factions are quietly preparing an attempt to liberate the streaming world from Flash imperialism. First, we have HTML5 and it's and tags. This innovation allows video to display natively in a browser without the need for Flash or any other plugin. Safari, Firefox, and Opera support these tags today with further support certain to happen in 2010. Next, we have the H.264 codec - holding the promise of near-universal player compatibility. It serves nearly all needs in the digital world. Finally, we have the open source movement in general. Open source CMS tools like Drupal are allowing companies build their own video CMS features and workflows directly into their websites - without being locked into the construct of a SaaS environment. They can own their platform, deploy only the features they want, and save lots of money over the long term.

For Enterprise Streaming companies like Eastbay Media, 2010 holds great promise. By always taking an open framework approach, our customers have remained committed and we will continue to do right by them. We will continue to smartly innovate as a neutral entity and continue to fully support Flash, Windows/Silverlight, Quicktime, and promising new technologies, like HTML5, as they evolve. We will continue to participate in the search for the Streaming Holy Grail by working with our customers and partners to reach for flexible, open, device-agnostic solutions that all of our customers will increasingly expect.