DRS 2008, a sneak peek into the future of end-to-end network management.

Izegem, June, 2008 – Skyline Communications reports a record attendance for its annual DataMiner Release Seminar (DRS), which was held last week at the Kinepolis venue in Kortrijk, Belgium. The event again gathered leading operators from the IPTV, HFC broadband, broadcast and satellite industry that deployed the DataMiner multi-vendor network management platform for end-to-end management of their operational ecosystems, and key business partners that provide DataMiner related services and use DataMiner to further leverage and add value to their solutions portfolio. At DRS2008 Skyline Communications presented the new features and capabilities in the pipeline for both DataMiner 5.5 and DataMiner 6.0, and customers and business partners presented some exciting case studies on their DataMiner projects.

DataMiner 5.5, which is expected to be released in Q3 2008, introduces a wealth of new features and capabilities. Amongst other this includes so-called Custom Generic Properties, which enable operators to create a tight integration with third party OSS components such as trouble ticket applications, inventory & asset databases, etc. and to enrich their DataMiner NMS environment with complementary information such as site contact details, service qualifications, etc. Another highlight in the DataMiner 5.5 release includes an innovative extension on the DataMiner Root Cause Analysis (RCA) correlation concept, which will enable DataMiner platforms to model internal device dependencies and to isolate root causes in the most complex environments more efficient than ever before.

But the top of the bill at DRS2008 was beyond any doubt the introduction of DataMiner 6.0 and its new graphical UI designated DataMiner Cube. Today, DataMiner is already the leading and most innovative multi-vendor network management platform in the industry, and DataMiner Cube underlines the commitment of Skyline towards its customers to continuously drive and lead the NMS industry, and to continuously invest in new technology that will enable DataMiner operators to manage the most complex operational environments more efficiently than ever before. DataMiner Cube is a cutting-edge user-centric UI design, leveraging the latest software technologies, and which is expected to redefine the way operators interact with their operational ecosystem and to go beyond what traditional NMS solutions have ever been able to deliver before.

And finally, but definitely not at least, the attendants of DRS2008 could enjoy some elaborate case studies brought by DataMiner customers and business partners. This included a case study on the implementation of DataMiner Customer Premises Equipment Manager (DMS CPE Manager) in one of the leading HFC plants in the industry. DMS CPE Manager is a recent innovation of Skyline Communications, which enables operators to collect valuable operational information from their CPE ecosystem, and to create a comprehensive perspective on the quality and availability of their services. The case study demonstrated how DataMiner interacts with a vast volume of CPE devices, and how it interacts with various business components such as the established OSS environment, data warehouse and help desk facilities.

Both DataMiner 5.5 and DataMiner 6.0 with the brand new DataMiner Cube UI will be presented to the general public for the first time later this year in September at IBC 2008 in Amsterdam.

About Skyline Communications

Skyline Communications (www.skyline.be) is the global leading supplier of multi-vendor network management solutions for the HFC broadband, satellite, IPTV and broadcast industry. Our flagship DataMiner network management platform, which received various prestigious awards, enables end-to-end integration of the most complex technical ecosystems and has been deployed by leading operators such as Arab States Broadcasting Union, Belgacom, Broadcast Australia, Czech Television, European Space Agency, Eutelsat, Gateway Communications, GlobeCast, M6, MTV, Orascom Telecom, Overon, Roshan, RTL-TVI, Broadcasting Center Europe, Stratos Global, Telenet , Telenor, TelstraClear, TVE, UPC, Virgin Media, VOO, Ziggo, etc. DataMiner is today already integrated with over 1000 devices and systems from more than 200 key industry suppliers, and offers a plethora of functionality including unlimited web access, alarming, e-mail and SMS notification, long-term trending, professional reporting, advanced automation, intelligent correlation and root cause analysis, service management, real-time SLA monitoring, user-definable key performance indicator dashboards, spectrum monitoring, mobile access, powerful CPE management, and much more.