“Creating New Opportunities with Innovation”

Joe Mozden, CEO of Sonic Foundry, came from DeVry University, one of the many institutions that blended in-person and online learning, even before the pandemic. His work background consists of a mix of education, big data, and technology, and he is always striving to keep Sonic Foundry moving in the direction of massive growth. As he’s done in the past, Joe is using design theory and thinking to achieve that goal. His focus is on improving high-speed communication, implementing his vision of People, Strategy, and Execution, and not only evaluating the business to date but the entire market landscape.

2020 was certainly a year of enormous change. Through video, people remained digitally connected with friends and family, kept businesses operating, classes open, and avoided events being canceled. From March to September 2020, Sonic Foundry’s customers created 5.8 million videos using Mediasite technology. Those videos were viewed 1.4 billion times. “To put that in perspective, it’s almost 10 times what many of our users were doing pre-pandemic. COVID-19 was a 10-year accelerant in our industry. We also recently conducted a research survey with BizBash and the results confirmed our mindset: online and hybrid events and learning, are here to stay. There is no going back, and I believe this will continue to create new opportunities for our business,” says Joe.

Sonic Foundry is proud of the unique relationships they have with their customers. They focus first on the business problem clients are facing rather than beginning with the technology solution. Their customers are not only active users of their products, but they are champions of video solutions and help Sonic Foundry see the value and challenges they face in their day-to-day lives.

“Sonic Foundry is proud of the unique relationships they have with their customers. They focus first on the business problem clients are facing rather than starting with the technology solution.”

Coming from a company with a thirty-year history in this market, Sonic Foundry’s deep expertise in events and higher education has truly set them apart. “In fact, this year we took our popular user event, Mediasite Experience 2021 (MSX2021) and made it completely virtual,” adds Joe. “The wide range of presenters, from healthcare individuals to higher education leaders and enterprise organizers, positioned Mediasite Events as a leader in the industry.”

Sonic Foundry has also received numerous awards for its new one-click desktop application, Mediasite Mosaic. This application enables teachers, students, trainers, and remote workers to have a video studio at their fingertips and manage recordings from their web conferencing tools. EdTech Digest recently named Mediasite Mosaic a finalist in the EdTech Cool Tool category for the best new product for service. This is the fifth award that Mosiac has won since its launch in June 2020. It also won the Best Remote/Blended Learning Tool in Tech and Learning, the best new lecture capture/screen recording solution in the Campus Technology 2020 New Product Awards and THE Journal 202 New Product Awards as well as the 2020 Future Best of Show InfoComm Special Edition Award by AV Technology.

In March 2021, Sonic Foundry had the opportunity to help the local Bank of Sun Prairie host their first-ever virtual stockholder meeting and reach their largest audience to date. Using Mediasite Events complete virtual and hybrid platform, the bank connected stockholders nationwide for the first time in their 124 years of business. Not only were they able to invite an array of stockholders, but they were able to authenticate them before attending the event, take live attendance, stream computer presentations, and allow participants to vote live within a dynamic, customized online experience.

For Sonic Foundry, the sky’s the limit, as they constantly evaluate their customers' needs. “We are focused on augmented reality, artificial intelligence, 360 videos, and so much more. We feel that video will be a staple in education, teaching, learning, events, in any market where people need to connect and learn,” says Joe. “We just launched our latest product release, Mediasite 8, which has more features and services to accommodate those businesses looking to implement a video solutions strategy. The hybrid world will continue to evolve, and for that reason, we will continue to advance all of our video-first products.” IE