About the Authors

Wes Simpson is president and founder of Telecom Product Consulting, an independent consulting firm that focuses on helping companies develop and market video and telecommunications products. He is a frequent speaker and analyst for the video transport marketplace; in the past three years alone he has spoken at IBC, NAB, BroadcastAsia, SMPTE, VidTrans and a number of other conferences. Wes is author of the well-received book “Video Over IP, A Practical User's Guide to Technologies and Applications” published by Focal Press in 2006.

Wes has more than 25 years experience in the design, development and marketing of products for telecommunication applications. Before founding Telecom Product Consulting, he was COO of VBrick Systems, Inc., a manufacturer of MPEG video equipment. Earlier, at ADC Telecommunications, Wes was the director of product management for the DV6000, a market leading video transport system. He previously held a variety of marketing and engineering positions in the telecommunications industry. Wes was a founding member of the Video Services Forum, and was a member of its Board of Directors from 1997 to 2001. He holds a BSEE from Clarkson University and an MBA from the University of Rochester.

Howard Greenfield is president of Go Associates, a global consulting firm that helps companies bring technology to the marketplace. He is a digital media and business development strategist as well as an accomplished columnist, widely published around the world. Howard has held senior management and consulting positions with Sun Microsystems, Informix Software, British Telecom and Apple Computer. He was the creator and leader of Sun's first Media Lab and completed graduate studies at Stanford University.

For the last two decades, Howard has been a successful technology developer, manager, educator and writer. In addition to front-line collaborative development ventures with Xerox PARC, Ericsson and the American Film Institute, he has held leadership roles involving early stage start-up companies and established corporations, three of which were subsequently acquired by Ariba, IBM and Microsoft.

Howard has presented and moderated at conferences throughout Silicon Valley, Europe, and Asia. He has served on government and cultural advisory boards that include the State of California, UK Trade & Invest, CNET and others. He also worked in the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow research and development, and is currently a board member of BlueVoice.org, an Internet media non-profit dedicated to protecting ocean life and habitats.

The authors welcome any comments, questions, or insights from readers. Please feel free to send e-mail to Wes at [email protected] and Howard at [email protected].