San Bruno, CA — Sept. 21, 2011 – Qumu, the leading business video platform provider, today announced Mike Mahan, Sr. IT Specialist at TPI Composites, Inc. in Warren, Rhode Island, as the winner of the System Administrator Appreciation Day prize sponsored by Qumu on July 29, 2011.  Mahan won a leading role in the upcoming second Qumu video to be shot by ‘Gears of War’ art director, Jerry O’Flaherty, honoring System Administrators (SysAdmins) and IT teams.

“I would never have thought they’d give an IT Specialist such Hollywood treatment!” said Mahan.  “It was such a surprise to win this opportunity to work with Qumu and Jerry O’Flaherty in a starring role in the next SysAdmin hero video.  Most contests just give out a free iPad or software but this prize is an experience of a lifetime.”

This will be Mahan’s first trip to Hollywood.  In addition to a leading role in the second video, Qumu has arranged for full star treatment for Mahan including makeup and costuming, running lines with the actors, one-on-one direction from video art director and filmmaker O’Flaherty, dinner with the cast and crew, all accommodations and limo transportation.

The first short film in the series, “Qumu SysAdmin Hero saves ‘The Enterprise’,” was released on System Administrator Appreciation Day, a holiday founded by Ted Kekatos and now in its twelfth year.  The holiday was designed to call attention to the often overlooked heroic efforts required from IT teams to keep companies operating without technical disruptions.  Kekatos also served as a third party to determine the winner. 

The first 90-second short film, set in a metaphorical spaceship representing “the enterprise,” can be seen here.  Qumu has not yet revealed the plot of the second installment but hinted that it will take place in a futuristic dirigible and the IT superhero will undoubtedly save the day again.

“The response to the first video was phenomenal.  With the addition of our real life IT hero, Mike Mahan, we continue to echo the sentiment of what System Administrator Appreciation Day is all about,” said Qumu CEO Ray Hood.  “Our goal is to raise awareness of the increasingly complex job our IT professionals face in business today.  At Qumu we work side-by-side with dedicated specialists like Mike every day to solve critical webcasting challenges for our customers.  This is a rewarding and fun way for Qumu to show recognition for all they do.”

Qumu recently partnered with LeapFactor, providers of a cloud-based mobility platform that enables companies to easily deploy and integrate mobile apps with backend systems.  LeapFactor shares in the appreciation for the tireless efforts of SysAdmins and IT teams.

“System administrators are critical to the success of our business.  As a Qumu Q-Force partner, we build mobile experiences that incorporate video communications into all kinds of different mission critical business applications,” said Lionel Carrasco, Founder &CEO.  “We join Qumu in saluting the system administrators that ensure the success of our solutions every day.” 

About Qumu

As the leading business video platform provider, Qumu is the control center for all things video.  We empower organizations to better engage and inspire employees, improve productivity, and reduce costs.

Video is pervasive – it appears in all business applications and is consumed on all devices.  The largest Fortune 500 companies depend on Qumu’s video platform to capture, manage, and distribute live and on-demand content with total reliability and security. Regardless of audience size, viewer device, or network configuration, Qumu simply makes video work. Only Qumu delivers the Freedom to work with existing infrastructure; the Power to reach everyone; and the Control to do it right.

Visit www.qumu.com

About Leapfactor

Leapfactor is the company that enables enjoyable business apps. While Leapfactor’s cloud-based mobility platform enables companies to easily deploy and integrate mobile apps with backend systems, Leapfactor’s app stencils focus on providing an outstanding user experience to ensure apps are easy and fun to use.

To learn more visit: http://leapfactor.com/

Press contact:

Tom Carpenter


Grayling Connecting Point


Phone: 415-442-4018


Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.