180Squared and MBO Video Launch IPTV Managed Cloud Service

180Squared--a company which is best known for providing software and integration services for Microsoft's Mediaroom IPTV platform, but which is now seeking to expand its scope--and carrier Ethernet network provider, MBO Video, on Tuesday unveiled what they are claiming is the first IPTV managed cloud service. Dubbed the Cirrus Managed Cloud Solution, the new service is built with 180Squared's v.Unison solution set, which the company says enables a shared installation of an IPTV middleware platform among multiple entities, while maintaining a secure, autonomous environment for each individual entity's backend systems and customized offering. "By sharing the infrastructure and costs, IPTV becomes a much more viable and competitive product offering," MBO Video's Gene Baldwin said in a prepared statement. "We recognized the business potential of IPTV, and we're eager to supply service providers and other entities, such as hotels and hospitality providers, economies of scale for more robust video solutions. 180Squared's v.Unison encapsulated into the Cirrus Solution allows us to do that and share IPTV offerings with other entities simply and efficiently."

According to the companies, the Cirrus Managed Cloud Solution, which is based on Microsoft Mediaroom, gives providers immediate access to applications that differentiate their IPTV service, including caller-ID on the TV (with VoIP and TDM compatibility), remote DVR scheduling, whole-home DVR, and more. The solution also provides ongoing maintenance support to the installation and subscribing entities, the companies say, and ultimately enables service providers to reduce the Capex and Opex necessary for entry into the market.

According to 180Squared, v.Unison is a solution set composed of the company's v.Orchestra products and Quantum Site technology, and includes:

• Its v.Maestro IPTV Middleware Integration and Management Platform, which the company bills as providing the critical entry point into a complex IPTV middleware implementation, in order to manage, integrate and police multiple, disparate B/OSS systems and third-party applications.
• Its v.Harmonizer Device Provisioning Module, which it claims allows for multiple methods of set-top box activation and provisioning.
• Its v.Harmonizer Billing Adapter Module, which it bills as enabling the required extraction and auditing of billing events from the IPTV middleware to the billing systems in the formats that the systems require.
• The Quantum Site Technology, which it says segregates data at a domain level (subscribers, devices, channel maps, and users) and ensures that, while multiple entities share the IPTV middleware installation, they autonomously manage their own environment for their backend billing and operation systems integration and management, and are able to offer their own branded experiences and unique offerings.

According to 180Squared, v.Unison, with its v.Maestro platform, easily integrates into a service provider's network and backend systems. For example, the company says, MBO Video affiliates, Cimarron Telephone, Cim-Tel Cable and Pottawatomie Telephone, use MACC's Customer Master software for customer care and end-user billing: MACC easily developed an interface, 180Squared claims, between Customer Master and the v.Maestro Integration and Management platform to auto-provision IPTV customers in Microsoft Mediaroom. "From the beginning of the project, we found 180Squared to be very easy to work with," MACC's director of client services, Joelle Kesling, said in a prepared statement. "Their Application Programming Interface (API) was straightforward and easy to integrate with. It has been a great partnership so far and we look forward to working with 180Squared on future implementations." Added 180Squared chairman and CTO, Mark Cooper: "v.Unison and MBO's revolutionary new Cirrus Managed Cloud Solutions are just one example of the opportunities 180Squared is creating through our focus on simplifying IPTV network integration and management. We have created a set of IPTV building blocks, v.Orchestra, which we can work with service providers to assemble into new IPTV-related offerings that reduce the time and costs of IPTV deployment and maximize IPTV revenue potential." (Note: for more on 180Squared and its partnership with MBO Video, listen to this interview with 180Squared co-founder and VP of business development, Amir Littman.)