The Advantages of Cloud Computing for Media & Entertainment
We are living in a revolutionary era of digital content and media consumption. As such, media companies are reckoning with the new challenges that come with new times. One of the biggest changes in the industry is consumer demand and behavior. To adapt, M&E brands need to digitally transform their production, distribution, and monetization processes. Cloud solutions are a crucial tool for this evolution, and M&E organizations should prioritize cloud strategy as a core pillar of their business models to address industry-wide shifts and stay relevant in today’s ultra-competitive landscape.
The Challenge: Addressing Greater Audience Expectations and Volatility
Viewing behavior and media distribution has greatly impacted the M&E industry. Entertainment content consumption is at an all-time high, and audiences are finding new and more ways to watch media. Today, linear television is considered old-school, and consumers are favoring platforms that give them the power of choice and freedom. Why would you tune in to your cable television at a specific time to watch your favorite show when you can watch that same show anytime, anywhere, on any device or platform?
With new non-linear television services, media companies have less control over their audiences’ viewing experience. Before, viewers were constrained by broadcasting schedules and immobile, unconnected TVs. Now, audiences have taken viewership into their own hands, and M&E brands must discover ways to retain their viewers’ attention and loyalty in the era of endless options of content creators and streaming platforms.
The Cloud Has the Flexibility and Scalability to Handle Complex Workflows
OTT streaming services are the most popular alternative to linear television broadcasting. It is a solution that meets the audience’s expectation of access to content of their choosing whenever and wherever they want. However, OTT platforms require formatting multiple video files to be delivered to any device with varying connection speeds. As such, OTT streaming services need advanced video streaming workflows that encode and transcode, protect content, and possess storage capacities that continuously grow.
Because OTT broadcasting has complicated workflows and intense infrastructure needs, M&E companies need to consider scalability. OTT streaming that utilizes on-premises data centers will stymie growth for media organizations because legacy applications and software are resource and labor intensive. When OTT services are set up with on-premises streaming, it requires a group of configured live encoding and streaming services to deliver content to audiences.
The in-house services then need to have the computing capacity and capabilities in order to deliver content without interruptions. On top of that, technical staff are necessary to maintain the proprietary hardware, ensure its security, and continuously upgrade it as audiences grow. If companies opt for on-premises OTT streaming, they will not be able to achieve the scalability and quality of experience that they need to keep up with audience expectations.
A cloud-based infrastructure solves all of these issues. To reiterate, on-premises OTT platforms are very resource-intensive with complex ongoing maintenance and high upfront costs. Using cloud services for OTT streaming addresses the downfalls of on-premises streaming by leveraging a network for services dedicated to delivering video files. The benefits of cloud computing for OTT workflows immensely impact streaming latency and distribution, leading to a better end user experience. Cloud infrastructures have the following advantages to on-premises infrastructure:
Geography: Unlike in-house data centers, cloud servers can be located around the world, and content can be delivered to audiences via the closest data center, thereby reducing streaming latency.
Encoding and transcoding: Cloud services have the ability and capacity to host rendered files and ensure they are ready for quick delivery.
Flexible scalability: Providers can easily scale services up or down based on audience demands by simply adding more cloud resources, rather than having to purchase more infrastructure.
Cost optimization: Cloud cost is based on only the resources a business uses with none of the maintenance and upkeep costs, and the price adjusts up or down depending on how much is consumed. on-premises costs include server hardware, power consumption, and space. Furthermore, on-premises is inflexible based on actual consumption.
The Cloud Can Help You Better Understand Your Audiences to Increase Revenue
Another buzzword we hear often these days is “big data.” As audiences grow and demonstrate complex behaviors, it’s important to capture those insights to better understand what will increase engagement and loyalty. Cloud computing is able to ingest and manage big data in a way that is actionable: it is one thing to collect data, but it is another thing to process and do something with it. For M&E organizations, utilizing this data helps improve user experiences, optimize supply chains, and monetize content better.
Big data involves manipulating petabytes of data, and the scalable nature of a cloud environment makes it possible to deploy data-intensive applications that power business analytics. The cloud also simplifies connectivity and collaboration within an organization, which gives teams access to relevant and real time analytics and streamlines data sharing. Furthermore, most public cloud providers offer machine learning tools, which makes processing big data even more efficient.
From a data standpoint, a cloud platform is an advantageous option for those who are handling big data and want to make data-driven decisions. The compelling benefits of cloud computing for data are as follows:
Faster scalability: Large volumes of both structured and unstructured data requires increased processing power, storage, and more. The cloud provides not only readily-available infrastructure, but also the ability to scale this infrastructure very rapidly to manage large spikes in traffic or usage.
Better analytic tools: The cloud offers a number of instant, on demand analytic tools that enable extract, transform, and loading (ETL) of massive datasets to provide meaningful insights quickly.
Lowers cost of analytics: Mining big data in the cloud has made the analytics process less costly. In addition to the reduction of on-premises infrastructure, companies are reducing costs related to system maintenance and upgrades, energy consumption, facility management, and more when switching to a cloud infrastructure. Moreover, the cloud’s pay-as-you-go model is more cost-efficient, with little waste of resources.
Better resiliency: In cases of cyber-attacks, power outages or equipment failure, traditional data recovery strategies are slow, complex, and risky. The task of replicating a data center (with duplicate storage, servers, networking equipment, and other infrastructure) in preparation for a disaster is tedious, difficult, and expensive. On top of that, legacy systems often take very long to back up and restore, and this is especially true in the era of big data and large digital content libraries, when data stores are so immense and expansive. Having the data stored in cloud infrastructure will allow your organization to recover from disasters faster, thus ensuring continued access to information and vital big data insights.
The Cloud is Secure
There is a misconception that the public cloud is less secure than traditional data centers. Of course, these are valid concerns: media companies must protect sensitive data, such as customers’ personally identifiable information. As a result, security and compliance is crucial for an M&E business’s migration to the cloud.
We have read about cloud security breaches in news headlines. In most cases, these articles fail to accurately point out where the problem occurred. Usually, these breaches occur not due to the security of the cloud itself, but due to the policies and technologies for security and control of the technology. In nearly all cases, it is the user, not the cloud provider, who fails to manage the controls used to protect an organization’s data. The question for M&E business should not be “Is the cloud secure?” but rather “Am I using the cloud securely?”
Whether M&E organizations use a public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, they can be confident in the security of their data and content. Here is how the cloud is as secure, if not more secure, than in-house data centers:
Cloud architecture is homogenous: In building their data centers, cloud providers used the same blueprint and built-in security capabilities throughout their fabrics. The net effect is a reduced attack footprint and fewer holes to exploit since the application of security is ubiquitous.
Public cloud providers invest heavily in security measures: The protection of both the infrastructure and the cloud services is priority one and receives commensurate investment. Public cloud providers collectively invest billions in security research, innovation, and protection.
Patching and security management is consistent: Enterprises experience security breaches most often because of errors in configuration and unpatched vulnerabilities. Public cloud providers are responsible for the security of the cloud, which includes patching of infrastructure and managed services.
-Anthony Torabi, Strategic Account Executive, Media & Entertainment
A lot of enterprises migrate to the public cloud because they see everyone else doing it. And while you should stay up on the latest and greatest innovations – which often happen in the cloud – you need to be aware of the realities of the cloud and understand different cloud migration strategies. You need to know why you’re moving to the cloud. What’s your goal? And what outcomes are you seeking? Make sure you know what you’re getting your enterprise into before moving forward in your cloud journey.
1. Cloud technology is not a project, it’s a constant
Be aware that while there is a starting point to becoming more cloud native – the migration – there is no stopping point. The migration occurs, but the transformation, development, innovation, and optimization is never over.
There are endless applications and tools to consider, your organization will evolve over time, technology changes regularly, and user preferences change even faster. Fueled by your new operating system, cloud computing puts you into continuous motion. While continuous motion is positive for outcomes, you need to be ready to ride the wave regardless of where it goes. Once you get on, success requires that you stay there.
2. Flex-agility is necessary to survival
Flexibility + agility = flex-agility, and you need it in the cloud. Flex-agility enables enterprises to adapt to the risks and unknowns occurring in the world. The pandemic continues to highlight the need for flex-agility in business. Organizations further along in their cloud journeys were able to quickly establish remote workforces, adjust customer interactions, communicate completely and effectively, and ultimately, continue running. While the pandemic was unprecedented, more commonly, flex-agility is necessary in natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes; after a ransomware or phishing attack; or when an employee’s device is lost, stolen, or destroyed.
3. You still have to move faster than the competition
Gaining or maintaining your competitive edge in the cloud has a lot to do with speed. Whether it’s the dog-eat-dog nature of your industry, macroeconomics, or a political environment, these are the things that speed up innovation. You might not have any control over these things, but they’re shaping the way consumers interact with brands. Again, when you think about how the digital transformation evolved during the pandemic, you saw winning business move the fastest. The cloud is an amazing opportunity to meet all the demands of your environment, but if you’re not looking forward, forecasting trends, and moving faster than the competition, you could fall behind.
4. People are riskier than technology
In many ways, the technology is the easiest part of an enterprise cloud strategy. It’s the people where a lot of risk comes into play. You may have a great strategy with clean processes and tactics, but if the execution is poor, the business can’t succeed. A recent survey revealed that 85% of organizations report deficits in cloud expertise, with the top three areas being cloud platforms, cloud native engineering, and security. While business owners acknowledge the importance of these skills, they’re still struggling to attract the caliber of talent necessary.
In addition to partnering with cloud service experts to ensure a capable team, organizations are also reinventing their technical culture to work more like a startup. This can incentivize the cloud-capable with hybrid work environments, an emphasis on collaboration, use of the agile framework, and fostering innovation.
5. Cost-savings is not the best reason to migrate to the cloud
Buy-in from executives is key for any enterprise transitioning to the cloud. Budget and resources are necessary to continue moving forward, but the business value of a cloud transformation isn’t cost savings. Really, it’s about repurposing dollars to achieve other things. At the end of the day, companies are focused on getting customers, keeping customers, and growing customers, and that’s what the cloud helps to support.
By innovating products and services in a cloud environment, an organization is able to give customers new experiences, sell them new things, and delight them with helpful customer service and a solid user experience. The cloud isn’t a cost center, it’s a business enabler, and that’s what leadership needs to hear.
6. Cloud migration isn’t always the right answer
Many enterprises believe that the process of moving to the cloud will solve all of their problems. Unfortunately, the cloud is just the most popular technology operating system platform today. Sure, it can help you reach your goals with easy-to-use functionality, automated tools, and modern business solutions, but it takes effort to utilize and apply those resources for success.
For most organizations, moving to the cloud is the right answer, but it could be the wrong time. The organization might not know how it wants to utilize cloud functionality. Maybe outcomes haven’t been identified yet, the business strategy doesn’t have buy-in from leadership, or technicians aren’t aware of the potential opportunities. Another issue stalling cloud migration is internal cloud-based expertise. If your technicians aren’t cloud savvy enough to handle all the moving parts, bring on a collaborative cloud advisor to ensure success.
Ready for the next step in your cloud journey?
Cloud Advisory Services at 2nd Watch provide you with the cloud solution experts necessary to reduce complexity and provide impartial guidance throughout migration, implementation, and adoption. Whether you’re just curious about the cloud, or you’re already there, our advanced capabilities support everything from platform selection and cost modeling, to app classification, and migrating workloads from your on-premises data center. Contact us to learn more!
You migrated your applications to the cloud for a reason. Now that you’re there, what’s next? How do you take advantage of your applications and data that reside in the cloud? What should you be thinking about in terms of security and compliance? In this first episode of a 5-part series, we discuss 5 strategies you should consider to maximize the value of being on the cloud. Listen now on Spotify, iTunes, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
We’d love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with comments, questions and ideas.
Many companies are already storing their data in the cloud and even more are considering making the migration to the cloud. The cloud offers unique benefits for data access and consolidation, but some businesses choose to keep their data on-prem for various reasons. Data migration isn’t a one size fits all formula, so when developing your data strategy, think about your long-term needs and goals for optimal results.
We recommend evaluating these 4 questions before making the decision to migrate your data to the cloud:
1. Why do you Want to Migrate your Data to the Cloud?
Typically, there are two reasons businesses find themselves in a position of wanting to change their IT infrastructure. Either your legacy platform is reaching end of life (EOL) and you’re forced to make a change, or it’s time to modernize. If you’re faced with the latter – your business data expanded beyond the EOL platform – it’s a good indication migrating to the cloud is right for you. The benefits of cloud-based storage can drastically improve your business agility.
2. What is Important to You?
You need to know why you’re choosing the platform you are deploying and how it’s going to support your business goals better than other options. Three central arguments for cloud storage – that are industry and business agnostic – include:
Agility: If you need to move quickly (and what business doesn’t?), the cloud is for you. It’s easy to start, and you can spin up a cloud environment and have a solution deployed within minutes or hours. There’s no capital expense, no server deployment, and no need for an IT implementation team.
Pay as you go: If you like starting small, testing things before you go all in, and only paying for what you use, the cloud is for you. It’s a very attractive feature for businesses hesitant to move all their data at once. You get the freedom and flexibility to try it out, with minimal financial risk. If it’s not a good fit for your business, you’ve learned some things, and can use the experience going forward. But chances are, the benefits you’ll find once utilizing cloud features will more than prove their value.
Innovation: If you want to ride the technology wave, the cloud is for you. Companies release new software and features to improve the cloud every day, and there’s no long release cycles. Modernized technologies and applications are available as soon as they’re released to advance your business capabilities based on your data.
3. What is your Baseline?
The more you can plan for potential challenges in advance, the better. As you consider data migration to the cloud, think about what your data looks like today. If you have an on-prem solution, like a data warehouse, lift and shift is an attractive migration plan because it’s fairly easy.
Many businesses have a collection of application databases and haven’t yet consolidated their data. They need to pull the data out, stage it, and store it without interfering with the applications. The main cloud providers offer different, but similar options to get your data into a place where it can be used. AWS offers S3, Google Cloud has Cloud Storage, and Azure provides Blob storage. Later, you can pull the data into a data warehousing solution like AWS Redshift, Google BigQuery, Microsoft Synapse, or Snowflake.
4. How do you Plan to use your Data?
Always start with a business case and think strategically about how you’ll use your data. The technology should fit the business, not the other way around. Once you’ve determined that, garner the support and buy-in of sponsors and stakeholders to champion the proof of concept. Bring IT and business objectives together by defining the requirements and the success criteria. How do you know when the project is successful? How will the data prove its value in the cloud?
As you move forward with implementation, start small, establish a reasonable timeline, and take a conservative approach. Success is crucial for ongoing replication and investment. Once everyone agrees the project has met the success criteria, celebrate loudly! Demonstrate the new capabilities, and highlight overall business benefits and impact, to build and continue momentum.
Be Aware of your Limitations
When entering anything unknown, remember that you don’t know what you don’t know. You may have heard things about the cloud or on-prem environments anecdotally, but making the decision of when and how to migrate data is too important to do without a trusted partner. You risk missing out on big opportunities, or worse, wasting time, money, and resources without gaining any value.
2nd Watch is here to serve as your trusted cloud advisor, so when you’re ready to take the next step with your data, contact Us.
Learn more about 2nd Watch Data and Analytics services
-Sam Tawfik, Sr Product Marketing Manager, Data & Analytics
When you’re considering moving to the cloud, it’s important to take a personal examination of your goals for migrating, outside of the basic benefits achievable with the cloud. To maximize the value of the cloud, you have to make sure you’re moving for the right reasons. Today we discuss just that with our very own 2nd Watch CEO, Doug Schneider. Listen now on Spotify, iTunes, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
We’d love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with comments, questions and ideas.
