DENVER, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- (EDUCAUSE booth #443) - Sonic Foundry, Inc. (Nasdaq: SOFO), the recognized market leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management, today announced that Gartner, the world's leading information technology research and advisory company, has included Sonic Foundry as a sample vendor for lecture capture and retrieval tools in the Gartner Hype Cycle for Education.

The Hype Cycle 2009 analyzes the maturity of up to 1,650 technologies and developments currently present in various fields. According to the report, lecture capture and retrieval tools are emerging technologies that are expected to be adopted into the mainstream within two to five years.

"Lecture capture and retrieval tools have tentatively shown to have some effect on student grades and retention, and they promise to be important pedagogical tools," said Jan-Martin Lowendahl, Gartner research analyst in the report. "The ability to index lectures and the ability to offer playback of selected passages have proven key to these positive results.

"Throughout the past several years classroom technology has evolved from a consideration to a necessity, allowing unique educational moments to be translated into online learning sessions. Lecture capture is no longer a niche tool; it has a mainstream application with broad appeal," said Sean Brown, vice president of education for Sonic Foundry. "As the evolution of platforms advances, consumers can expect to see more seamless integration in order to facilitate teaching needs while catering to students' expectations," added Brown.

"Sonic Foundry has been recognized by several analyst firms as the global leader in market share, but we believe to have Gartner analyze the growth of this market is verification of the role lecture capture will play in the modern college classroom," said Rimas Buinevicius, chairman and CEO of Sonic Foundry.

Since its introduction in 2003, Sonic Foundry's webcasting platform and services have set the standard for delivering exceptional instruction and sharing knowledge online. Trusted by educational institutions worldwide, the patented Mediasite webcasting and content management system automates the capture, management, delivery and search of multimedia presentations that combine audio, video and accompanying graphics for live or on-demand viewing.

About the Hype Cycle

The Hype Cycle is copyrighted 2009 by Gartner, Inc. and/its affiliates and is reused with permission. Hype Cycles are graphical representations of the relative maturity of technologies, IT methodologies and management disciplines. They are intended solely as a research tool, and not as a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Sonic Foundry®, Inc.

Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO, www.sonicfoundry.com) is the global leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management, providing enterprise communication solutions for more than 1,500 customers in education, business and government. Powered by Mediasite, the patented webcasting platform which automates the capture, management, delivery and search of lectures, online training and briefings, Sonic Foundry empowers people to transform the way they communicate. Through the Mediasite platform and its Events Services group, the company helps customers connect a dynamic, evolving world of shared knowledge and envisions a future where learners and workers around the globe use webcasting to bridge time and distance, accelerate research and improve performance.

Product and service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of Sonic Foundry, Inc. or their respective owners.

Certain statements contained in this news release regarding matters that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Because such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, uncertainties pertaining to continued market acceptance for Sonic Foundry's products, its ability to succeed in capturing significant revenues from media services and/or systems, the effect of new competitors in its market, integration of acquired business and other risk factors identified from time to time in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Sonic Foundry, Inc.