AMSTERDAM - RAI Convention Center, IBC2003 -- The opportunity of "media everywhere"--delivering compelling TV experiences over multiple networks to multiple devices--requires interoperability and integration across an open value chain, and the open-systems approach to TV services has become mission critical for the successful launch on new TV-capable broadband services. In response to this need Sun Microsystems Inc., today announced the iForce[tm] TV Services Network, a new partner-based initiative designed to bring together resources from Sun and an extensive community of partners to help customers deploy multi-service television solutions over broadband networks. "Cost, complexity, and risk are key challenges facing broadband operators worldwide who are pursuing new broadband deployments or are extending the compelling service offerings of current deployments," said Shahram Moradpour, senior director, Market Development Organization, Sun Microsystems, Inc. "The iForce TV Services Network brings together resources to help our customers build, deploy, and market open systems-based, end-to-end TV services, illustrating again why Sun is the network computing platform of choice for customers and vendors alike." The iForce TV Services Network, with more than 35 premier partner members, provides revenue generating opportunities which include demand-generation programs and support from a growing number of community members such as Alticast, Amdocs, Arishi, Artesia, Callisto,Context Media, Convergent Media Systems, Convergys, Documentum, Fresh, G-cluster, Interactive Enterprise, iVast, Kasenna, N2 Broadband, NetSmart, Next Generation Broadband, NPTV, Omnia, Ortikon Interactive, Popwire, RealNetworks, Sofia Digital, Softel, Soluziona, S&T,Storbux, Tao Group, Tecsidel, VideoPropulsion, Vidiom, WBS, Webware, Xiran, and Yahoo. All participating partners can enjoy a strong portfolio of benefits offered through Sun's iForce Initiative, including iForce Solution Centers, iForce go-to-market programs, and early access to Sun's leading edge technologies, allowing for a faster roll out of TV services solutions to their customers. Artesia As a core component to Sun' Digital Asset Management Reference Architecture, Artesia Technologies believes Sun's iForce TV Services Network implicitly recognizes that all companies are media companies - whether they need to print, publish or broadcast" said Michael Barros, vice president of business development, Artesia Technologies. "This network initiative will re-shape how customers solve their multi-service television needs by relying on a Sun Microsystems partner stack designed to provide an end-to-end solution." Convergent Media Systems Convergent Media Systems Corporation is the leading provider of broadband video -based networks that deliver high quality live and on-demand digital signage, eLearning and business communications solutions for many of today's most respected companies. Clients include AT&T Wireless, Advance Auto Parts, Bank of America, Eli Lilly, Unisys, Volkswagen of America and other industry leaders. Convergent Media Systems video-powered, media-rich video applications deliver information and knowledge whenever and wherever it's needed to meet critical business needs across the extended enterprise. "Convergent Media Systems and Sun together provide an industry-leading platform, which is reliable, scalable and highly available to provide our joint customers an end-to-end video solution," said Bryan Allen, President & COO, Convergent Media Systems. "Sun offers a total solution to our installed base and we are excited to be an initial member of the new Sun TV Services Program." Innovative Systems "Innovative Systems Design is pleased to be associated with Sun Microsystems iForce TV Services Network that brings together resources to deploy multi-service TV content over 'broadband' networks," said Mr. Ernest Muir, President & CEO. Having the experience in delivering TV-Quality video content over any network, enables Innovative Systems Design to provide the foundation that will help broadband operators deliver added content without increasing bandwidth and cost. By changing the way businesses approach communication, Innovative's personal communication tools can instantly connect with other on-line users to insure simultaneous text, audio and video messaging from anywhere, anyplace, anytime to any device. Couple this communication with other complex applications such as CRM or ERP and you will have productivity gains that grow exponentially as information is delivered quickly and inexpensively to those who make the decisions. Utilizing the family of Sun products from servers through Sun software, Innovative Systems has continually been in the forefront of disruptive technologies that enables users to build intelligence into their infrastructure in order to maintain a competitive edge. Working closely with SUN and several of the iForce partners will clearly demonstrate our commitment to the TV Services Network and the open-systems approach to delivering quality products to our clients." Kasenna "From IP and broadband to cable and wireless, today's customers demand solutions and systems based on industry-standard hardware and architectures like Sun. As a development platform for Kasenna's products, Sun is an integral part of our carrier-grade deployments requiring high performance, open video-on-demand solutions," said Mark Gray, CEO, Kasenna. "Sun's new iForce TV Services Network endorses the open standards approach supported by Kasenna and gives customers a new resource enabling them to deploy end-to-end solutions for advanced TV services." NetSmart "Selecting to create a close relationship with Sun, gave NetSmart the opportunity to offer a highly competitive portfolio of products and services to its customers," said Lefteris Leondaridis President and CEO of NetSmart SA. "NetSmart has already good experience in delivering applications and services to vertical markets, i.e. healthcare, and that is done at a European level as NetSmart currently operates in Greece, has expanded to the UK and is planning to establish a presence in other markets too, such as Belgium and Spain. Our participation in the Sun iForce TV Services Partners Network enable us to make our customers successful, having available the right combination of programs and resources." Popwire Popwire Technology delivers Industrial Strength Media Coding Solutions for the professional Media Industry. Popwire_s Media Coding Software Suite simplifies the process of multiple format encoding and transcoding. Our customers include TV production companies, content aggregators, Internet service providers and wireless operators. "From a customer perspective the iForce TV Service initiative is an excellent opportunity to find pre-qualified premium vendors with best of breed products resulting in excellent end-to-end solutions. We strongly endorse the programs vision of "media everywhere" and the necessity of an open systems approach in delivering on that vision. We are thrilled to work with Sun and all other partners in this program to continue providing our customers exciting solutions tailored to their business needs." Says Robert Ekström, CEO Popwire Technology. Sofia Digital Sofia Digital provides solutions for interactive TV services across the world. The products consist of tools for content providers, server applications for operators, MHP applications for receivers, and applications for return channel servers. Sofia Digital has built the world's first interactive digital TV services using the DVB-MHP. Mika Kanerva, the CTO of Sofia Digital states, "The Sun iForce TV Services Network highlights the commitment Sun has for promoting open standards in interactive TV. As one of the leading providers of software solutions for MHP markets Sofia Digital believes working with Sun will bring interactive TV services to a wider audience." Strategy & Technology David Cutts, Director of S&T (Strategy & Technology Ltd), said "S&T has worked with Sun on the development of solutions for interactive TV over the past 5 years. Our TSBroadcaster, TSDeveloper and TSPlayer systems enable the creation and deployment of digital TV streams containing interactive data and all the necessary signaling to make TV networks work. We deploy solutions for broadcasters and interactive TV developers on Sun around the world and, while supplying an industry that needs unrivalled up-time, we value the reliability and availability of the Sun systems on which our software runs." VideoPropulsion VideoPropulsion creates high performance hardware and software building blocks for digital television and film production. "VPI has long been a proponent of open-systems and standards for DTV as a key enabler for driving down costs and simplifying solutions," stated Barbara Pick, President of VPI. "With Sun, we have produced standardized servers for development and deployment that can be used as platforms to construct new applications from well tested components. The extraordinary reliability of Solaris in production environments is a uniquely strong foundation for building infrastructure. Combining that with the rich environment of technology and marketing programs offered through Sun's iFORCE TV Services Network initiative makes Sun a powerful ally in pursuing TV-capable broadband services opportunities. Xiran "Cost effective information delivery remains one of the most significant inhibitors to realizing positive ROI on broadband service based business model." said Tom Beaver, General Manager of Xiran, a Division of SimpleTech Inc. "Xiran Content Delivery acceleration solution addresses the cost issue and complements Sun Microsystem Server Platforms in offering unmatched scalability and 10x performance enhancement for delivery of emerging MPEG-4 standard for broadcast of live and on-demand content to TV, PC, and Mobile platforms." The iForce TV Services Network is currently available at http://www.sun.com/tvservicesnetwork.