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Online video is rapidly becoming big business for Big Blue.

IBM, a company that conjures up images of the early days of computing, is pushing hard into the world of multiscreen video with a growing, evolving cloud-powered platform. Rather than baking it all from scratch, IBM’s recipe has called for a sprinkling of M&A moves that have further consolidated the video-streaming market.

Late last year, IBM snapped up Clearleap, the Duluth, Ga.-based cloud-video back office and infrastructure firm. It followed up that move with its more recent acquisition of Ustream, a live video-streaming specialist.

Both deals came in the wake of IBM’s 2014 purchase of Aspera, a vendor that enables large data transfers over broadband networks, and its acquisition of Cleversafe, a maker of object-based storage software and appliances.

Clearleap and Ustream have been folded into a newly formed unit called IBM Cloud Video Services. The division, led by former Clearleap CEO Braxton Jarratt, positions IBM to take on the sector’s other giants, including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, as well as Comcast, which is becoming a force in the cloud-powered content delivery and video-streaming market.

IBM’s buying spree also ties it more closely to the world of video entertainment distribution. Clearleap’s partners include HBO, A+E Networks, BBC America, Sony Movie Channel, Verizon Communications and Time Warner Cable. Ustream’s client stable counts HBO, the National Football League, Discovery Channel and Facebook, which has made video a key component of its social-media platform.

By adding Ustream to the mix, IBM can tie into a key trend in streaming — preparation and delivery of live events. On-demand video is part of Ustream’s repertoire, but “live has been our core competency from the very beginning,” CEO Brad Hunstable said.

Ustream has its own global content delivery network, but has also built an abstraction layer that enables it to plug into Akamai and other content delivery netwoks (CDNs) around the world, taking advantage of their transit and peering relationships.

That “software-defined content delivery network” lets Ustream optimize video quality at the individual viewer level, said Hunstable, who will continue with IBM. “As [video] traverses the open Internet, optimizing for the best path and the highest quality is very critical.”

Ustream will also help IBM reach into different parts of the market. Its “Pro” platform, for example, is a generic, all-purpose system that can take on large-scale events, while its “Align” product taps the same core technology but is tailored for smaller events, such as corporate training videos and town halls. Align is “like an internal version of YouTube,” Hunstable said.

The team-up with IBM will fuel the “next phase of our growth” and deliver a “different kind of scale,” Hunstable said, noting that Ustream had reached an inflection point. To reach the next step, it needed to either consider a major round of capital financing or take on a strategic partner, he said.

“Live [streaming] is definitely hot right now,” Hunstable said, adding that virtual reality presents another significant opportunity.

The announcements are arriving at a fast and furious rate as the IBC show (September 11-16) gets underway in Amsterdam. Here’s a roundup of news snippets from the video and tech confab:

-You.i and Pace will show a new user interface that’s running on 4K-capable Media Servers and “IP Pucks” that are pre-integrated with Pace Elements middleware for both Reference Design Kit (RDK) and non-RDK deployments. You.i, by the way, is underpinning the interface for “shomi,” the new OTT subscription video offering from Canadian operators Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications.

-Off the floor, RDK LLC, the joint venture of Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Liberty Global, plans to host a private, closed door meeting with suppliers and operators on Sept. 16, according to people familiar with it. For an expanded look at the RDK’s global ambitions and a sampling of RDK demos that will be shown at IBC, please see this story (subscription required) from the Sept. 8 issue of Multichannel News.

-IBM’s Aspera division -- in tandem with broadcast production systems vendor EVS and multiscreen video specialist Elemental Technologies – has introduced a large-scale system for the delivery of live high-res video streaming from the proverbial cloud. The system is particularly tailored for the delivery of live sporting events, they said.

-Arris has introduced a suite of advanced compression products, including the HEVC-capable DSR-7400 Transcoder Integrated Receiver/Decoder; the SE-7400 HEVC UHD/4K Encoder (a single-channel HEVC/UHD encoder for live linear encoding up to 4Kp60; and the ME-7000 Converged Compression Platform (for multiscreen delivery of IPTV, cable and satellite applications).  

-Alcatel-Lucent has introduced virtualization features to its Velocix Content Delivery Network (CDN) platform that decouples the software that controls and routes traffic on a network from the physical infrastructure that provides compute and storage resources. That combo reduces the time required to install or expand the CDN, the company said, noting that the product set joins the company’s network functions virtualization (NFV) portfolio announced earlier this year.

-Ooyala, the online video publisher being acquired by Australian telco Telstra, said it has won a deal to support Sky Sports’ free VOD content slate offered on its website, including analytics that tell Sky now users are engaging with that content and discovery features that help visitors find content. Ooyala also announced that it is powering premium content for Presto on Google Chromecast  devices. Presto is a premium movie streaming service based in Australia.

Please check back for additional items and updates throughout the day.