• Ancept Media Server Modules
• Ingest and Content Acquisition
• Searching & Indexing
• Preview
• Workflow
• Content Distribution
• Content Manipulation & Transformation
• Personalization
• Hierarchical Assets
• Reports
• Benefits
• Cost Reduction
• New & Incremental Revenue
• IBM Digital Media Factory
• DB2 Content Manager
• WebSphere Application Server
• Tivoli Storage Manager

Ancept Media Server Acquisition Complete

Acquisition of Digital Asset Management provider by investors forms new Ancept, Inc.

Bloomington, MN – An investment group led by technology systems integrator North American Systems International has completed its acquisition of Ancept Media Server, an enterprise-class Digital Asset Management solution, from Stellent, Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes all Ancept Media Server product technology, staff and customers.

The products and staff are part of a new corporation, Ancept, Inc., which is responsible for all business operations, product support, product development, marketing and sales operations for Ancept Media Server and related products. Ancept, Inc. will focus on the development and execution of key strategies in the Digital Asset Management market and broader digital media markets.

This acquisition will allow Ancept, Inc. to partner more closely with IBM to market, develop and support the Ancept Media Server solution, which uses DB2 IBM Content Manager as its middleware and repository. Ancept Media Server is one of IBM’s key digital media partner solutions, and a component of IBM’s eBusiness On-Demand digital content management solution (DCMS) and their real-time adaptive multi-intelligence multimedia platform (RAMMP) solution.

A digital asset management solution is designed to manage rich media assets (such as video, audio, animations, images, and other documents) in a database environment so they can be stored and indexed in a centralized repository and included in production and business workflows. This enables users to search for, retrieve, transform, manipulate, manage, and distribute these assets easily and effectively.

The U.S. market for digital asset management is expected to grow to over $5 billion by 2007 (Frost & Sullivan, U.S. Digital Asset Management Systems Market, August 2001), as it becomes indispensable for applications such as training, e-learning, marketing communications, product launch management, and brand management.

“ As Ancept’s primary stakeholder and key strategic partner, we’re very excited to bring together North American System’s extensive experience and expertise in technology systems integration with Ancept’s leading digital asset management technology to develop a turnkey solution for our customers,” said Phil Bettenburg, president of North American Systems, Int’l. “NASI has extensive experience in the graphic arts industry. Our Graphic Systems Int’l group has developed and deployed workflow and digital asset management solutions for hundreds of graphic arts companies over the past 15 years. The Ancept Media Server solution is a tremendous addition to our solutions portfolio.”

Both North American Systems and Ancept have a long track record of success with IBM, and have achieved IBM business partner status. Ancept Media Server was developed through close collaboration with IBM and, as a result, is one of the leading digital asset management solutions available today. The acquisition of Ancept Media Server and formation of Ancept, Inc. will bring renewed focus, energy and commitment to this partnership and will enable continued development, innovation and sales promotion.

“ Ancept Media Server (AMS) has been a key partner solution to IBM’s digital media strategies for many years and North American Systems is an IBM business partner,” said Dick Anderson, General Manager, IBM Media & Entertainment. “The union of these two and the formation of Ancept, Inc. will benefit the marketplace and strengthen the solution. IBM looks forward to partnering closely with these companies to bring our joint solutions to market.”

About North American Systems, Int’l

North American Systems has achieved the level of IBM business partner year after year as a result of its superior solutions, sales support and customer satisfaction ratings. In addition to providing the Ancept Media Server solution, North American also provides premier technology solutions for businesses, including Storage Management & Virtualization, High Availability/Disaster Recovery, Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Management, Document Imaging and Management, Security and Encryption, Terminal Emulation and Thin Clients, IBM Lotus communication and collaboration solutions, and Prepress Solutions.
www.nasi.com

About Ancept, Inc.

Ancept Media Server is widely recognized as one of the few Digital Asset Management solutions capable of supporting the requirements of large enterprises, and has a proven track record of success with major companies such as Gap Inc., United Parcel Service, National Football League, MBNA, Armani, eBay, Technicolor and IBM. Ancept has an 8-year history with IBM delivering digital media solutions and Ancept Media Server is a component of IBM’s eBusiness On-Demand digital content management solution (DCMS) and their real-time adaptive multi-intelligence multimedia platform (RAMMP) solution.
www.ancept.com