Software and other products of the new company, which is owned equally by AT&T and Silicon Graphics, will help local telephone companies, cable systems and other network providers offer movies-on-demand and other interactive entertainment and information services to consumers, students and business people.
At a news conference here to announce the venture, the companies demonstrated capabilities available today by using a Silicon Graphics media server with AT&T Network Systems broadband networking capabilities. Software developed by Interactive Digital Solutions will greatly expand the multimedia capabilities that service providers can offer their customers in the near future, they said.
The new company will develop software to seamlessly integrate Silicon Graphics powerful MIPS RISC-based media server and system software with key elements of public networks, including such AT&T products as high-speed switches, synchronous transport, broadband access systems and network operations systems.
"AT&T is committed to providing telephone and cable TV company customers the most complete solutions possible," said Richard A. McGinn, president of AT&T Network Systems.James M. Barton, vice-president of Silicon Graphics Media Systems Division, will assume the full-time position of president and general manager of Interactive Digital Solutions, which will be based in Mountain View, Calif. AT&T Switching Systems President Dan Stanzione will serve as chairman of the new company."By teaming up with a major leader in visual computing like Silicon Graphics, we can help our customers offer their customers the most comprehensive set of interactive multimedia services possible," he said.
"We're committed to early commercial deployment of practical and useful interactive digital services. The challenge, however, is astoundingly complex, requiring a carefully engineered, high-performance architecture," said Edward R. McCracken, chairman and chief executive officer of Silicon Graphics.
"Interactive Digital Solutions will meet that challenge by linking Silicon Graphics computing expertise with AT&Ts commitment to open systems and unquestionable ability to reliably connect the world with vital information and services."
"More and more telephone carriers and cable television companies are planning to upgrade or enhance their infrastructure to deliver interactive multimedia services to homes and offices," Barton said.The primary customers for Interactive Digital Solutions will be large local service providers such as telephone companies, cable television companies and other network operators around the world. Products will be sold and serviced in these markets by AT&T Network Systems through existing sales channels with the full support of the joint venture. In addition, the new company will provide video solutions for use in private networks."Interactive Digital Solutions will help them introduce those services, creating the opportunity for a wide variety of content owners to offer interactive products on a wide-scale basis," Barton said. "This new independent company draws from the strengths of AT&T and Silicon Graphics and is uniquely suited to develop the backbone for interactive networks."
Silicon Graphics, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of high-performance visual computing and data server systems. The company delivers interactive three-dimensional graphics, digital media and multiprocessing supercomputing technologies to technical and commercial environments through direct and indirect channels.
Its subsidiary, MIPS Technologies, Inc., designs and licenses the industrys leading RISC processor technology for the computer systems and embedded control markets. Silicon Graphics has offices worldwide and headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
AT&T Network Systems is one of the world's largest manufacturers and providers of network telecommunications equipment, offering communications service providers virtually everything they need to build and operate their networks.
AT&T provides communications services, equipment and computer systems to consumers, businesses and communications companies around the world.
Silicon Graphics is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. MIPS is a registered trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc.
