Telestream – Cloud-based workflow systems revolutionizing the broadcasting industry
Simon Clarke, CTO, Telestream
The importance placed on innovation in cloud technologies and their implementation continues to gather pace, yet real-world deployments still need to be improved. The demand for high-quality content to be delivered across multiple platforms in real-time has meant that the stakes have never been higher.
Leveraging cloud-based solutions and IP workflows is the key to success in an industry that demands rapid adaptation. These workflows are not just about technology updates; they are strategic tools for unlocking the full potential of media businesses in one of the most competitive and complex eras we have experienced.
Cloud-based workflows offer unparalleled flexibility, efficiency, and scalability, enabling media players to tap into new audiences and revenue streams. Yet despite this, broadcasters have only dedicated 11% of their media technology budget toward cloud providers or cloud-based products (Devoncroft). This demonstrates the continued apprehension around making the leap to fully cloud-native workflows, as media service providers continue to operate on-prem or with a hybrid set-up. Increasingly, though, the benefits of the cloud are becoming too hard to ignore as margins are squeezed and economic pressures grow.
Accelerating change driven by innovation
Cloud workflow systems uphold audience expectations while offering an intuitive, highly responsive, and efficient alternative to more traditional architectures. On-premises infrastructures often struggle with the growing demand for high-quality content, particularly as new advanced video formats and codecs have emerged. This leads to costly hardware upgrades and operational inefficiencies.
In addition, by utilizing a cloud-based production architecture model, the responsibility for infrastructure shifts to the cloud provider. As a result, broadcasters and content creators can allocate fewer resources to infrastructure concerns and concentrate more on supporting events and production technologies.
Leveraging the cloud accelerates innovation significantly compared to on-premises environments. Cloud-based workflows allow teams to experiment at a much faster pace, with minimal costs for trying out new and innovative approaches. For example, cloud environments support rapid deployment and scaling of new services, enabling teams to iterate quickly and bring new features to market faster, with increased productivity and creativity.
The cloud’s scalability is essential for handling the unpredictable nature of audience demand. By leveraging elastic cloud resources, broadcasters can scale up or down to meet spikes in demand without the need for significant upfront investments. This flexibility supports business growth and adaptation and reduces the risk of underutilizing resources during periods of lower demand. At a time when budgets are tighter than ever, switching to a cloud workflow will certainly ease some of these constraints by optimizing resource allocations and maximizing operational efficiency.
UHD content delivery
Scaling up older physical infrastructures for UHD content production demands significant cost and time. This drives broadcasters to adopt cloud-native solutions, which can seamlessly and efficiently scale to handle 4K and even 8K content. More advanced cloud technologies, such as distributed computing and GPU acceleration, simplify the production process and offer a more cost-effective solution, providing audiences with a more immersive experience at a much greater resolution than HD.
Broadcasters transitioning to the cloud benefit from a simplified UHD content management process. They ensure a flexible and viable long-term operation by minimizing hardware dependencies and relying on continuous cloud-based software updates; they ensure a flexible and viable long-term operation. This cost-efficient approach empowers broadcasters to focus on content creativity and innovation, freeing up resources and technical bandwidth. The cloud provides media companies with a streamlined and economical alternative to on-premises solutions.
Enabling remote production and staff efficiency
The cloud’s flexibility fosters highly collaborative and productive workflows for geographically separated teams, expanding the scope of production and access to talent. The BBC’s recent coverage of the UK General Election saw it successfully and remotely manage 369 live feeds from vote-counting locations across the country. This provided audiences with an immersive and interactive viewing experience as the cloud gave the BBC the tools to go beyond traditional broadcasting methods and handle peak traffic without investing in additional hardware. It allowed the BBC to be exactly where its audience wanted them, keeping them engaged and glued to their screens as the results came in.
Cloud-based production also offers an unprecedented level of flexibility. As production needs fluctuate, additional resources can be easily allocated or scaled down without the traditional obstacles of capital expenditure, coordination, and facility management. A remote working mandate in mid-2020 accelerated ITV Daytime’s cloud transition, and the team needed a solution compatible with their Avid systems for remote editing. Telestream’s Kumulate and Vantage solutions pushed the content to the cloud and made it available to all remote editing systems via the Avid Interplay system. This versatility and efficiency eliminate those added hardware and infrastructure costs while making it easier to reach audiences at scale.
The cloud’s the limit!
The cloud is playing an increasingly central role in shaping the industry’s future. It is not just a technological shift—it has become critical to how media companies operate in this digital, multi-platform age. Regardless of the size of your media organization, implementing cloud-based solutions is now essential to staying competitive.
However, the journey to cloud adoption is not without challenges. Concerns such as security, latency and cost must be addressed. Media organizations should engage in open discussions with their suppliers, ensuring they work with partners prepared to innovate to solve their unique ecosystem challenges. For example, edge computing can mitigate latency issues, while choosing the right cloud provider with robust security protocols can alleviate security concerns.
The cloud’s elastic resources enable broadcasters to dynamically adapt based on content volume, output resolution, or any other factor. Automated workflows are also gaining momentum in their importance. Implementing innovative new solutions can be leveraged to build improved efficiencies, allowing editors and content creators more time to focus on their creative work.
When media companies see the cloud as an expansion of their technology toolkit rather than an unsettling change, they will put the control of their content destiny firmly in their own hands. As we prepare for future challenges, those who successfully leverage cloud workflows now will be best positioned to secure long-term business success.
