CoolSign acquired by IP video streamer Haivision

November 3, 2010 by Dave Haynes

Canadian IP video streamer Haivision has acquired the assets of CS Software Holdings, LLC, aka CoolSign.

CoolSign, which has been in the digital signage software game since 1998, falls under the umbrella of a Montreal-based company known for streaming h.264 video over enterprise networks. Bringing the CoolSign software into the offer means Haivision can deliver a combination of intelligent video with graphics and data to any desktop, display, digital frame, and mobile device.

“Haivision recognizes the opportunity for converging video streaming, IPTV, interactive media, and digital signage,” said Mirko Wicha, president and CEO of Haivision Network Video. “We are positioned as the only company that can deliver end-to-end technology solutions and a unified infrastructure for communications across all media delivery platforms.”

“It became obvious that Haivision and CoolSign had a perfectly aligned vision,” said Lou Giacalone, Jr., CoolSign founder. “With our substantial combined technical resources and deep industry expertise under one roof, we can deliver truly disruptive capabilities to the market.”

CoolSign built a reputation for a solid, feature-rich platform that bucked the trend towards SaaS and used an enterprise model. I have seen and been trained on the platform, and it is indeed really good.

But the company has been bounced around in recent years, including a stint under Planar’s roof. New investment a couple of years ago seemed to provide independence and allowed Giacolone (who’d left a gig with Titan to go back to CoolSign) to aggessively grow the company. But the CoolSign team got caught in an investor bun-fight earlier this year, and things have been a little upside down in the ensuing months.

The Haivision deal, undoubtedly, provides some stability. Haivision has been part of CoolSign’s partner eco-system since the new year.

“Today, Haivision serves over five million players every day across many platforms,” said Wicha. “Haivision has grown at a compounded annual growth rate of over 40 percent for the past six years and has just closed off another record year. We continue to invest heavily in engineering and global expansion to deliver the best media solutions to the market.”

The CoolSign brand stays, under the Haivision umbrella. There will be cross product technical development to introduce Makito™ performance HD video encoding into the CoolSign solution suite, and to extend the Haivision’s Furnace™ IP video system with the signage control capabilities of CoolSign.

Some background on Haivision Network Video:

Based in Montreal and Chicago, Haivision Network Video is a private company and a world leader in delivering the most advanced and intelligent IP video networking and digital signage technology. Haivision’s products are deployed worldwide within the foremost Fortune 100 companies; in the most rigorous military and defense applications; in state-of-the-art healthcare facilities for video collaboration and training; in highly renowned educational institutions for IPTV, teaching, and signage; in the most efficient interactive broadcast applications; and within the world’s leading TelePresence suites. Haivision distributes its products through value-added resellers, system integrators, distributors, and OEMs worldwide.