Microsoft SQL Server Customer Solution Case Study

NIC and Doordarshan Build an Integrated Portal with Video Content Text and Streaming

Overview “The portal created using Microsoft software has Country or Region: India helped create a global footprint and audience for Industry: Media our programming… [W]e are able to meet our Customer Profile viewer’s expectations.” Doordarshan (DD), the single largest network in the world, has a wide and Sanjiv Datta, Additional Director General, Doordarshan colorful variety of programs that symbolize the multiplicity of cultures, languages, and attires of different states Doordarshan (DD), the national television service of India, is of India. devoted to public service broadcasting. It is one of the largest Business Situation terrestrial networks in the world covering a large portion of DD was looking for the fastest way to create an integrated portal that would be India’s population. This helps DD in its objective to reach out to updated with live and breaking news the largest possible audience in the country. directly by its content editors.

Solution It wanted to reach out to Indians living abroad with the same National Informatics Centre (NIC) chose the Microsoft® platform to build the content in real time. An integrated portal was developed using integrated portal. Microsoft® Content Management Server (MCMS) to provide a

Benefits fast and cost-effective way to create, deploy, and maintain its  Helps reach out to nonresident Indian mission-critical, content-rich Web sites. Through its Web sites, community  Simplifies content updating process DD provides news and programming information to the world.  Live streaming webcasts  Content available to public on multiple devices Viewers can access the information on multiple devices and the  Simplifies Web site management and content update process is so simple that the journalists can do it upgrades from their desktops using Microsoft Word. “The integrated portal Situation DD was looking at creating these sites Doordarshan (DD) is the public service using a common set of easy-to-use tools developed [for broadcaster of India with an objective to that would facilitate easy content authoring Doordarshan] in a provide news and current affairs, social and uploading while at the same time welfare, and education programs apart maintaining a consistent look and feel for short time frame has from entertainment channels. The channel the overall site. helped in reinforcing generates a large amount of news programming from the various channels, DD wanted a partner who would create the the confidence of including breaking stories and special and IT infrastructure for the portal, and provide Doordarshan on NIC live events. site template designs, content authoring tools, and hosting services. As the content as their technology As a public broadcasting service, DD's would be about live and special events, the partner for e- objective is to reach out to the largest hosting and server infrastructure had to be possible audience. Its diverse network has designed for high availability with the governance initiatives.” been quite successful in meeting this goal, capacity to handle bursts of load. as far as residents of India are concerned. However, it wanted to reach out to Indians Dr. N. Vijayaditya, Director General, living and working across the globe. Solution National Informatics Centre DD chose the National Informatics Centre DD envisioned creation of an integrated (NIC) for developing, hosting, and portal that has its news content and maintaining the solution. The two programming information, including live companies (DD and NIC) shared a long streaming of news from its channels, on a and successful relationship, starting from The DD News Web site offers webcasts of live events and real-time news around 24 hours a day, seven days a week basis. the Teletext days, where NIC had created a the clock. content management system that would gather data from various sources, including railway and airline schedule information that was subsequently transmitted over the network’s channel.

“The integrated portal developed [for Doordarshan] in a short time frame has helped in reinforcing the confidence of Doordarshan on NIC as their technology partner for e-governance initiatives,” says Dr. N. Vijayaditya, Director General at National Informatics Centre.

DD decided to extend its long relationship with NIC for this project. NIC was awarded the turnkey project to:  Develop an integrated portal that would have contents and features from its

“The integrated existing sites, and have live text and media content uploaded by DD Using MCMS 2002 the sites were rapidly Doordarshan portal (remotely) in real time on a 24 hours a designed, developed, and deployed with an has enabled day, seven days a week basis. easy-to-update platform. MCMS 2002 has  Provide technical support to its content empowered DD’s content authors and Doordarshan not only authors and editors. editors to author and manage their content to reach the millions of  Make constant improvements in the site on their own. This has significantly as per new requirements. reduced the steps in the (content) Indian living abroad…  Host the portal infrastructure at its data publishing process. It has also reduced the but, perhaps more centre. requirement for an IT-trained workforce for  Provide a high-availability network and content management and site importantly brought server infrastructure that would ensure maintenance. their homeland into bursts of load during live events. SharePoint Portal Server 2003 has been their homes hundreds After evaluating different options NIC used for providing a search feature, so that of miles away.” decided on Microsoft® software to build the users visiting the news Web site are easily integrated portal. The portal was designed able to search for a news item or content Sanjiv Datta, Additional Director General, on Microsoft Content Management Server stored on the site. Doordarshan (MCMS) 2002, Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000, Microsoft SharePoint® Portal Server The site has applications such as survey, 2003, and Microsoft Windows Server™ daily weather, and interesting video 2003 operating system. MCMS 2002, SQL archives. This is built using Microsoft .NET Server 2000, and Windows Server 2003 connection software. “The portal created are all part of Microsoft Windows Server using Microsoft software has helped create System™ integrated server software. This a global footprint and audience for our enabled NIC to quickly and efficiently build, programming. With features such as live The DD portal architecture diagram. deploy, and maintain mission-critical webcasts, real-time updates, we are able to content-rich Web sites. meet our viewer’s expectations,” comments Sanjiv Datta, Additional Director General at Doordarshan.

Benefits “The CMS server facilitated the launch of the portal in the shortest time frame possible at the same time meeting all the functional requirements laid out by the customer,” says Rama Nangpal, Senior Technical Director at National Informatics Centre.

Helps Reach Out to Nonresident Indian Community “The CMS server One of the key objectives of reaching out to Because the news is being stored in the Indians across the globe has been met. SQL Server 2000 database, it can be facilitated the launch of Even though DD does not have a global accessed through channels other than the the portal in the footprint, with the help of the portal it gives Web. This enables DD to enter content Indians breaking news and current affairs once and make it available to users shortest time frame as they happen. “The integrated through the Web, mobile phones, personal possible at the same Doordarshan portal has enabled digital assistants (PDAs), and Interactive Doordarshan not only to reach the millions Voice Response (IVR). time meeting all the of Indians living abroad live and breaking functional requirements as it happens, but, perhaps more Simplifies Web Site Management and importantly brought their homeland into Upgrades laid out by the their homes hundreds of miles away,” says Varindra Seth, the Site Administrator and customer.” Sanjiv Datta, Additional Director General at Project Coordinator from NIC emphasizes Doordarshan. that usage of the Microsoft platform has simplified the process of upgrading and Rama Nangpal, Senior Technical Director, Simplifies Content Updating Process managing Web sites. The time and effort National Informatics Centre Since its creation one year ago the required to manage day-to-day operations integrated portal has helped DD in has been significantly reduced. uploading, managing, and maintaining content seamlessly.

The portal has made the content updating process very simple as the TV journalists who know how to use a PC can author and update the content being published on the Web site.

The template framework that has been adopted with the integrated portal has enabled the journalists to update content in a predefined format, keeping the look and feel of the site consistent.

The MCMS 2002 Web content authoring tool has afforded the content authors the option to create content through a desktop productivity tool, Microsoft Word, and to publish the content directly to the Web site without seeking the help of a Web site administrator.

Content Made Available to Public on Multiple Devices For More Information About NIC operations, deliver a more secure and For more information about Microsoft NIC is a premiere Science and Technology reliable IT infrastructure, and drive valuable products and services, call the Microsoft (S&T) organization of the government of new capabilities for the future growth of Sales Information Center at (800) 426- India in the field of Informatics Services your business. 9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft and IT applications, and has been Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- instrumental in steering Information and For more information about Windows 2495. Customers who are deaf or hard- Communication Technology (ICT) Server System, go to: of-hearing can reach Microsoft text applications in government departments at www.microsoft.com/‌windowsserversystem telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) central, state, and district levels. The e- 892-5234 in the United States or (905) governance applications developed and 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 implemented by NIC have provided wider United States and Canada, please transparency in government functions and contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. improvement in decentralized planning and To access information using the World management of projects. To facilitate this, Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com NIC has established a nationwide ICT Network (NICNET) with gateway nodes in For more information about National central government departments, 35 state Informatics Centre products and and union territories/UT secretariats, and services, visit the Web site at: almost all 603 district collectorates for IT www.nic.in services. The government has designated the nationwide computer communication For more information about Doordarshan network, NICNET, as the government products and services, visit the Web site informatics network. at: www.ddinews.nic.in, www.ddinews.com, and Microsoft Windows Server System www.ddindia.com, Microsoft Windows Server System integrated server infrastructure software is designed to support end-to-end solutions built on Windows Server 2003. It creates an infrastructure based on integrated innovation, Microsoft’s holistic approach to building products and solutions that are intrinsically designed to work together and interact seamlessly with other data and applications across your IT environment. This helps you reduce the costs of ongoing

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Document published October 2005