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Brian J. Spencer’s love of music and
his favourite band, Pearl Jam, are intrinsically linked with his decision to
launch his own business. A few years back, Spencer says he had “one of those
moments of clarity” while waiting to download one of the band’s concerts on the
Internet. “I thought it be wonderful to simply
click a button to listen to an entire concert instead of first downloading it,”
he recalls. So he started to research streaming video and Internet technology. It wasn’t long before Spencer
realized what streaming media—a sequence of moving images sent in a compressed
form over the Internet that can be viewed almost instantaneously—could do for
the business world. And after some early application successes with his former
employer, 3M Canada Ceditoriaorp., Spencer gave up his steady paycheque to
launch Streaming Digital Media dot Com. Now, four years later, his business
has grown from one-man show to four employees and a client base that stretches
around the world. “When I started the company I was driving a decade-old
Chevrolet Cavalier with two-tone rust,” quips Spencer. “Now I’m able to drive a
new vehicle. There’s a lot less worry when month-end time rolls around compared
with two years ago.” Offering technology that allows
small- and mid-sized companies to “run with the big boys,” Streaming Digital
Media dot Com specializes in all forms of streaming media, including video
samples, audio samples, online training, email-based video, live streaming of
events and video achieving. According to Spencer, streaming media
is a communications tool that allows companies to communicate locally,
regionally, nationally and globally, all for the same price. Some clients use
the technology to place video messages on their website, replacing much of the
need for traditional print brochures and mail-outs. Others use it primarily for
internal communications, training and education. “The possibilities are endless,” says
Spencer, adding that many companies have existing corporate video footage that
can be edited or repackaged for web delivery at a modest cost and web-streamed
for as little as $25 a month. Streaming Digital Media dot Com also offers a wide
range of video production services. “We've been involved in projects from
Halifax to Vancouver, the U.S., Australia, Northern Ireland and the UK, and
we’re always looking to expand,” says Spencer, adding that he is in the process
of hiring a business development manager for the Sarnia area, “to capitalize on
the relationships we have already with the large oil companies in Calgary.” Like any technology, Spencer realizes
that as digital streaming becomes more mainstream, the industry itself will
become more crowded. “(But) more players doesn’t necessarily mean more
competition,” he says. “It can actually cause the opposite. Everyone will be
doing it, but it will become obvious that not everyone has the skills to do it
at a professional level. Those service providers that can provide exceptional
service, quality and innovation will allow their customers to instantly stand
apart from their competition. “For any technology company, it means
spending a lot of time investigating what others are doing and continually
advancing on best-practices and processes.” |
