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The US-based company Anystream has announced its acquisition of a system developed at The University of Western Australia which provides unique flexibility in the recording, presentation and management of lectures on-line.

The Lectopia system features a high-level of automation, advanced monitoring capabilities and flexible processing options.  For lecturers, the unobtrusive operation of Lectopia makes it a highly appealing learning technology; and for students, access to recordings at any time means greater access to lecture materials for revision and review.

The following is a media statement issued by Anystream earlier today in the US:

ANYSTREAM APRESO ACQUIRES LECTOPIA FROM UWA
FORMS ECHO360, INC.

Combined Solution Poised to Make On-Demand Lecture Replay a
Global Standard for Higher Education

(Sterling, Va. and Perth, Australia August 27, 2007) – Today Anystream announced its acquisition of lecture capture pioneer Lectopia by its higher education division, Apreso.  The combined entities will reemerge this fall as Echo360, Inc. – a move that will formalize the separation of Anystream’s media and education business units.  Celebrated by academia, Lectopia was born in higher education as an operating division of The University of Western Australia.  By adding Lectopia’s 500+ classroom deployments and 20 institutions with Apreso’s roster of nearly 160 customers, Echo360™ will boast more higher education installations worldwide than any other capture technology.

"We carried out a rigorous selection process for a high volume, low maintenance solution to support five universities and NHS partners" said Dave Wolfendale, Assistant Director for Customer Services, Newcastle University.  "Apreso and Lectopia were short listed.  I'm positive this marriage will result in products and services built upon the strengths of both companies, making it easier for other institutions to select the best available lecture capture solution."

With this acquisition, the Echo360™ brand was created to convey the flexibility of on-demand lecture material for students while signifying the evolution of lecture capture into an important mainstay in higher education.

“Echo360 enters the market with over 1,000 installed classrooms and more than 30% of its business overseas, “ noted Fred Singer, CEO of Echo360.  “With the addition of our Australian office, we have the first follow-the-sun sales and support organization.  Lecture capture is a global phenomenon and Echo360 is the only provider with the presence to support educational institutions anywhere in the world.”

True to the mission of both organizations, Echo360 will focus on scalable and affordable solutions for higher education.  Echo360™ products will capture classroom audio, video and projected visual aids, to create a rich media experience, viewable from any computer.  Mobile students can also take their “echo” on-the-go by downloading lectures to their iPod or MP3 player.

“Lectopia’s approach to university-wide lecture capture hit the mark from inception.  As the pioneer, Lectopia has unmatched experience with the benefits and challenges of deploying lecture capture on a university-wide scale,”said Geoff Allen, Echo360’s chairman and founder.  “Echo360 is now uniquely positioned to service institutions of higher learning with superior domain knowledge and credentials, the best team, broadest footprint, and the only scalable solution available today.”

Dr. Andy Sierakowski, Director, Office of Industry and Innovation at The University of Western Australia said, “Lectopia exemplifies the model of an institution-backed project maturing into a technology primed for broad adoption by the education community.  After considering several strategies for international commercialization, we saw one choice to give Lectopia well-deserved global exposure.  UWA could not be more proud of Lectopia’s success and the future growth directions with Echo360.”

Over the next year, the strengths of Apreso’s capture capabilities and Lectopia’s unparalleled central management system will come together, resulting in an unprecedented platform for on-demand lecture delivery.  Lectopia founder Mike Fardon will lead the integration efforts as vice president of product management, reporting to Mark Jones, senior vice president and general manager of Echo360.  Fardon will also head Echo360’s Australian office and continue to manage existing Lectopia licensees.

About Anystream

As the number of outlets and devices to consume video content grows, Anystream enables media companies and educators to innovate and experiment with new media to reach their consumers and students where, when and how it’s convenient for them.  With the bragging rights to over 600 media deployments and more than 130 higher education institutions, Anystream is the known leader for on demand video solutions.  The company's scalable, enterprise rich media solutions can be found from MIT to MTV and beyond.  Anystream’s honors include the Frost & Sullivan Market Leadership Award, Presentations Magazine's Standing Ovation Award, PC Magazine's Technical Excellence Awards finalist, COMDEX Best of Show awards finalist, Entrepreneur Magazine's "Hot 100" list and Deloitte & Touche's "Fast 50."

Media references

Matthew Dornic, (Media Relations Manager, Anystream Apreso) 0 (703) 948 3076
[email protected] (443) 414 1393

Dr Andy Sierakowski (Director, Office of Industry and Innovation, UWA) 61 8  6488 7048
[email protected]

Michael Fardon (Founder, Lectopia Project) 61 8  9486 9464
[email protected]

Simone Hewett / Francesca Robb 61 8  6488 7977
(UWA Public Affairs) 0420 790 097 / 0420 790 098