Sonic Foundry and Michigan Public Health Institute Release White Paper Documenting Emerging Trends in State Webcasting

Michigan agency illustrates the state’s cost savings model and return on investment using Mediasite for government communication and outreach


MADISON, Wisc., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Sonic Foundry(R) Inc. (NASDAQ:SOFO) , a leader in automated rich media communications technology, and the Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI), a full-service research, services, training and education institution, have released a joint white paper, “Emerging Trends in State Webcasting: A Cost Savings Model for Government Agencies.” Based on the Institute’s webcast statistics as well as interviews, surveys and other agency documentation, the white paper describes how MPHI uses the patented Mediasite(R) platform to rapidly and cost- effectively create webcasts for multiple state organizations, including the Michigan Department of Information Technology, Michigan Department of Education and Michigan Department of Treasury.


Michigan programs faced decreasing state and federal funding, a shrinking pool of workers and expanding business needs. As an established educational partner for many state and local agencies, MPHI identified webcasting as a cost-effective method to meet the state’s health communication challenges by reducing the need for travel, enhancing services and project management, boosting policy outreach and training remote partners. The Institute has since launched an enterprise service model to meet the rising demand for webcasting from a growing list of Michigan governmental clients.


“At present, our State of Michigan customers have used the technology for trainings, policy review, information updates, recording conference keynote speakers and help desk activities,” said Larry Doele, coordinator of electronic communications for MPHI. “We continue to identify innovative methods of using Mediasite in everyday communication. In the past year, over 13,500 individuals have viewed one or more of our 93 webcast presentations.”


The white paper details how webcasting helped MPHI customers improve performance, expand their reach and generate a rapid return on investment. MPHI conducts routine customer satisfaction surveys that indicate agencies are pleased with the webcasting service and see value in expanding Mediasite use for additional business needs. In a recent poll, 96 percent of viewers would recommend using webcasting to a colleague.


“We are constantly challenged to find ways to be more effective in developing and delivering training but at less cost due to the risk of losing funding. The emerging ability to do things through the use of the web is just an incredibly wonderful answer to all of these things. With Mediasite, we can do things much more cost effectively, but they are also far more effective,” explained Brenda Fink, director of the Division of Family and Community Health.


MPHI conservatively calculated the state saved $80.00 per viewer for the typical live or on-demand webcast, based on the geographic distribution of state agencies and their target audiences. For the Michigan Department of Community Health, MPHI determined a total of $420,400 in savings from just 19 webcasts in 2007 alone by eliminating mileage and travel time.


“Amidst a growing movement of states to provide broader, more convenient access to information, Mediasite has become an essential communication platform for public meetings, emergency preparedness and just-in-time training,” said Rimas Buinevicius, chairman and CEO of Sonic Foundry. “Webcasting not only conserves limited state resources, but also provides wider access to information 24/7, empowering agencies to deliver messages with greater clarity, frequency and convenience for stakeholders statewide.”

  To download the white paper, visit www.sonicfoundry.com/whitepaper.

About the Michigan Public Health Institute


A full-service research, development, and educational institution, the Michigan Public Health Institute’s vision is to be a unique public trust which will enable communities to apply state-of-the-art community health practices. Nationally, MPHI is one of several collaborative research and development institutes in the field of community health, and one of a select few that are pre-qualified, by virtue of a contract with the federal Health Care Financing Administration, to bid on high-priority projects related to improving health care in the U.S. Founded in 1990 by Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and the Michigan Department of Community Health, MPHI is governed by a board of 15 directors, representing government, academia, health care providers, philanthropy, media, business and community- based organizations. For more information, please visit www.mphi.org or contact Larry Doele at 517.324.6044.


About Sonic Foundry(R), Inc.


Founded in 1991, Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ:SOFO) is a technology leader in the emerging rich media communications marketplace, providing enterprise solutions and services that link an information driven world. Ziff Davis Media’s Baseline Magazine named Sonic Foundry to its list of the top ten fastest-growing software companies with sales under $150 million. Sonic Foundry is changing the way organizations communicate via the Web and how people around the globe receive vital information needed for work, professional advancement, safety and education. The company’s integrated Webcasting and Web presentation solutions are trusted by Fortune 500 companies, education institutions and government agencies for a variety of critical communication needs. Sonic Foundry is based in Madison, WI. For more information about Sonic Foundry, visit the company’s Website at www.sonicfoundry.com.


Certain statements contained in this news release regarding matters that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Because such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, uncertainties pertaining to continued market acceptance for Sonic Foundry’s products, its ability to succeed in capturing significant revenues from media services and/or systems, the effect of new competitors in its market, integration of acquired business and other risk factors identified from time to time in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


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Source: Sonic Foundry, Inc.