Avid Announces Strategic Cloud Alliance with Micro

Comprehensive multi-year agreement includes technology collaboration, co-development and go-to-market cooperation that will set the pace for the industry in bringing media enterprises, creative teams and individual artists into the cloud

Companies will work closely together on cloud-based solutions and cloud services based on Avid’s market-leading creative tools and media workflow solutions, and Microsoft Azure cloud platform and media services

LAS VEGAS, April 22, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AVID CONNECT --  Avid ® (Nasdaq: AVID ), a leading global media technology provider for the creation, distribution, and monetization of content for media organizations, enterprise users and individual creative professionals, today announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance agreement with Microsoft Corp. to cooperatively develop and market cloud-based solutions and cloud services aimed at the media and entertainment industry. As part of the agreement, Avid has chosen Microsoft Azure  as its preferred cloud hosting platform, and will develop and launch a range of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offerings powered by the Avid MediaCentral® Platform , the industry’s most open, tightly integrated and efficient platform designed for media. A technology demonstration of the Microsoft Azure hosted Avid MediaCentral Platform with select Avid tools and media workflow solutions will be shown at the Avid booth during NAB 2017 (Booth #SU902).

With a cloud-based offering built on Avid’s portfolio of the industry’s best and most comprehensive creative tools and media workflow solutions, the strategic cloud alliance will enable media organizations and creative professionals to quickly and easily leverage the efficiencies, flexibility and agility that the cloud enables—made possible by Avid’s flexible approach to licensing, deployment and commercial options. The cloud will also enable innovation by the companies around new media workflows, new operational capabilities and new business opportunities. While Avid’s hosting and services offering will be based exclusively on Microsoft Azure, the company’s commitment to openness will allow customers to make their own cloud hosting decisions.

The foundation of the alliance is a comprehensive, multi-year strategic agreement in which both companies will make significant mutual commitments and investments in technology, product development and go-to-market efforts. Under the technology and product development cooperation elements of the agreement, to support Avid’s product development efforts and investments, Microsoft will invest additional resources and funding to help accelerate time-to-market for targeted cloud-based solutions and specific Azure-based cloud services for the media and entertainment industry. As part of the commercial cooperation, Avid will offer Microsoft Azure hosting and media services exclusively as an integral part of its own portfolio of cloud-based solutions and cloud services. In addition, the companies will work in close cooperation on the overall go-to-market approach, which will help clients migrate to the cloud easily and more cost-effectively, and allow them to work with both companies seamlessly.

“We at Avid are very pleased to be entering into this strategic cloud alliance with Microsoft, and believe this will be big for the industry, and even bigger for our clients. The combination of these two strong technology innovators will set the pace for the industry,” said Avid Chairman and CEO Louis Hernandez, Jr. “The depth and breadth of this technical and commercial collaboration will drive significant value for our mutual clients and help them successfully navigate their own journey to the cloud.”

Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President – Cloud and Enterprise Group at Microsoft Corp. added, “With the industry’s preeminent global community of media enterprises and creative professionals that make up Avid’s client base, the company’s unique platform approach and its extensive domain knowledge, combined with our own powerful Azure cloud platform, we believe that this unique alliance is well-positioned to lead the media industry into the cloud. Microsoft is pleased to collaborate with such a market leader in media and entertainment, and feel strongly that together our companies will produce something powerful for the industry—creating an intelligent, media-savvy cloud solution.”

With a trusted company like Microsoft leveraging decades of enterprise experience to design a unique and unmatched enterprise cloud experience, combined with a full spectrum of capabilities and extensive media services available through 38 Azure regions across the globe—more than any other major cloud provider—Azure is exceptionally positioned to meet the needs of media enterprises and creative professionals across the globe. Azure provides flexible deployment options between public-cloud, private-cloud or on-premise datacenter, empowering media customers to plan their own migration in a way, and at a pace that best fits their specific needs.

"Our competitive evaluations of the leading cloud providers showed that Microsoft Azure is the most open, trusted and global cloud platform that also enables true hybrid-cloud computing—which we believe is very important to media enterprises. This will give our customers maximum flexibility to move at their own pace and orchestrate workflows across on-premise and cloud-hosted environments, which will unleash a new generation of capabilities for distributing and optimizing media,” continued Hernandez, Jr. “With Microsoft’s strategic alliance and our joint investments to accelerate cloud development and innovation, this cooperation will give our joint customers a competitive edge.”

Hernandez, Jr. added, “Avid is making a major play in the cloud, which is a significant step for the company. This represents the culmination of our Avid Everywhere vision and strategy for the industry, which will open up significant growth prospects for the company as it looks to maximize on the opportunities that the media industry’s migration to the cloud will unlock.” The alliance between the companies is expected to deliver a continuous stream of hosting and services offerings over the next 18 months, with the first wave of offerings slated for a phased release during the second half of 2017.

About Avid Through  Avid Everywhere™ , Avid delivers the most open and efficient media platform, connecting content creation with collaboration, asset protection, distribution and consumption. Avid’s preeminent customer community uses Avid’s comprehensive tools and workflow solutions to create, distribute and monetize the most watched, loved and listened to media in the world—from prestigious and award-winning feature films, to popular television shows, news programs and televised sporting events, and celebrated music recordings and live concerts. With the most flexible deployment and pricing options, Avid’s industry-leading solutions include Pro Tools®, Media Composer®, Avid NEXIS™, Interplay®, ProSet™ and RealSet™, Maestro™, PlayMaker™, and Sibelius®. For more information about Avid solutions and services, visit  www.avid.com , connect with Avid on  Facebook ,  Instagram , Twitter , YouTube , LinkedIn , or subscribe to  Avid Blogs .

© 2017 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Avid, the Avid logo, Avid Everywhere, and MediaCentral are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Product features, specifications, system requirements and availability are subject to change without notice.

PR Contacts: Sara Griggs Avid sara.griggs@avid.com +1 310-907-6906 Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – Avid’s PR agency Tanya Roberts: +1 310 773 3760 Josh Paterson: +44 (0) 20 7403 8878 avid@rlyl.com Investor Contact: Avid Robert Roose robert.roose@avid.com +1 978-640-3375