Managing the Future

Optimum Lightpath also was able to draw on the expertise of its parent company, not just in the video realm but also in the sports franchise area because Cablevision owns multiple sports teams and venues (such as Madison Square Garden), as well as Rainbow Media.

Pierce sees a growing corporate video market on many levels. “Certainly demand in general is growing,” she said. “In the medical field it is pretty apparent why, both in terms of being able to transmit images for second opinions and to do remote consults for someone or a follow-up. In financial services, it means being able to get more than a voice on the phone when one is in a meeting — to do a lot more ad hoc visual meetings. And of course, in New York there are tons of media companies. This is almost perfectly built for that market.”

For Optimum Lightpath, expanding its managed services roster is a natural progression. “Managed services will be a vital part of the future expansion of our business,” Calafati said. “We will continue to innovate solutions based on business problems and seek solutions to help the customer be successful. Growth will come from various places, including conferencing, surveillance and security, to name a few. Keeping with the Optimum Lightpath innovative spirit, we are certain that there will be a few creative applications of technology to support the customer's desire to purchase services from one supplier that are tailored toward specific vertical market and enterprise business needs.”

Pierce's primary lament about Optimum Lightpath is that it doesn't have a bigger service territory. “They also don't do wholesale, which could be a missed opportunity for them,” she said.