Two of the leading service companies in the transition to file-based workflows, Mediasmiths and The White Room, are to merge. The two have collaborated closely in recent years, and the merger is a logical progression. Mediasmiths specialises in the design and implementation of media management systems, with a software R & D team in Belfast and offices in London, Stockholm and Sydney. The White Room is a training and change management company which uses its own methodologies to close the gap between emerging technologies and their effective uptake in the workplace. Niall Duffy, currently MD of Mediasmiths, will become the group CEO. Andy Lovatt, MD of The White Room, becomes general manager of the UK business. “The deal was an obvious next step from our historic collaboration,” said Duffy. “Together we can now offer an end to end service from design through to post-implementation transformation.” Lovatt added “This merger creates a unique entity in the market, that marries media technology expertise with transformation and change management. It provides opportunities not only in broadcast but in other media and content-rich industries.” In particular, the new company sees as a future key focus “social business” – the application of collaboration and knowledge management technology to improve productivity and sharing inside organisations.
