MOSS Extension :Interactive Media Manager

Well here is the first add-on for MOSS (if you don't count Excel- and Forms Services or the BDC as seperate add-ons). So what does this add-on do? Basically it's a nice solution for companies that want to use digital images as their primary content to collaborate with each other. Here is a snippet of the features :

Interactive Media Manager includes components of existing Microsoft solutions such as Windows Workflow Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation, InfoPath^® XML forms and the newly announced Microsoft Silverlight™, previously called Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere (WPF/E). Building on the capabilities of Office SharePoint Server 2007, Interactive Media Manager provides the following customizable Web parts that target specific processes within the content production life cycle:

• Media Library serves as a front end in which media content items in the digital asset management system are displayed as thumbnails.

• Media Viewer displays information such as annotations and time codes in Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers format and offers sophisticated, built-in playback controls.

• Media Annotator allows groups of people to collaborate on media assets through video annotations, digital inking and discussions.

• Media Import facilitates the upload of media files and automatically launches associated workflows, such as information-gathering processes.

• Media Cart provides an individualized area for storing media assets that people want to edit themselves or push out to appropriate editors.

 

(really nice theme they use eh? ;)

What really interests me is the following sentence "..Interactive Media Manager easily integrates with Microsoft business intelligence tools, giving management insight into production details...". Does anybody have thoughts about this? Here is more info from the whitepaper that answers my question :)

Business Intelligence

Interactive Media Manager offers first-class reporting capabilities with customizable dashboards and easy integration with reporting tools such as Microsoft Office PerformancePoint™ Server 2007, Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005 Reporting Services and Excel® Services. (Excel Services is a new, shared service in SharePoint Server 2007 that makes it easy to display and calculate Microsoft Office Excel 2007 workbooks on SharePoint Server portals and dashboards.) Media and management companies will want to take advantage of the built-in workflow reporting functions that show the status, time spent, and steps included in ongoing workflows.

Unlike standalone DAM systems, the Interactive Media Manager solution offers a convenient way of incorporating business information into content production. The Report Center offers a central place for collecting and publishing reports, spreadsheets, and key performance indicators common to a group, including SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services reports and data from business management systems. Also, with Excel Services, people can securely share live, interactive Excel workbooks.

Check http://www.microsoft.com/resources/mediaandentertainment/solutions_imm.mspx and Microsoft Introduces Interactive Media Manager - extension of MOSS 2007 for more details!