Digital Asset Management vendor ClearStory announced last week that they've been acquired by The FeedRoom, a web video management software and services provider (and another company that doesn't like to put spaces between words). We weren't at all surprised to hear this news, and in some regards, The FeedRoom might be seen as ClearStory's deus ex machina. ClearStory had been suffering financially for some time, laid off swaths of staff in late 2007, and was losing traction while chief competitors North Plains and Widen were growing.

As readers of our Digital & Media Asset Management Report know, ClearStory lags peers like North Plains and Artesia in managing video, so the pairing of ClearStory with The FeedRoom's video services may provide a bit more competition. However, we'd caution you to remember that the storage and delivery of video (which is The FeedRoom's focus), is very different from the creation and management of video assets. You're still going to need specialized applications to complete your full video management lifecycle.

For ClearStory customers, or those looking at ClearStory on their short list, we think this acquisition is good news. Most industry watchers were questioning the company's viability, and while it remains unclear how The FeedRoom will adopt or adapt ClearStory's technology, the current ClearStory management team (new as of late 2007) will stay on board. This likely means the technology will enjoy continued support from its new parent.