Sorenson Media announced Tuesday that it will split to create two companies, a move the organization says will better facilitate growth and product development.
Sorenson Media will focus on the company's video compression software, the company said in a prepared statement. The spin-off, called Sorenson Communications, will focus on expanding its communication products for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. The split will be effective as of May 1, said Sorenson Media founder James Lee Sorenson.
"This is good because we'll be better able to focus," Sorenson said. "These were two different businesses, essentially, in terms of customers, the channels and the products. This will enable us to really focus the management, to incent the management, and drive toward closer, better customer relationships."
Sorenson will serve as chief executive officer for both Sorenson Communications and Sorenson Media. The companies will be equals under the Sorenson umbrella of companies, and both will remain privately held, Sorenson said.
The original Sorenson Media was born in the late 1990s, specializing in professional video codecs — an integrated circuit that converts analog data into digital data, and vice versa — and easy-to-use video compression software. As it grew, the company expanded into video services, video compression and video communication tools for use over the Internet.
Sorenson Communications' primary focus will be on its Video Relay Service, which helps deaf people talk with hearing people via video relay using a sign language interpreter. The company also has developed a videophone for the consumer market and an Internet Protocol Relay Service, which helps users place text-based relay calls from a computer or mobile device to any standard telephone user.
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