IBC 2023: IP and Cloud at IBC2023: Navigating new challenges

The cloud continues to revolutionise the media and broadcast industry, offering unprecedented opportunities in areas such as scalable storage, content management and distribution, digital workflows, and real-time collaboration.

But for as many problems as the cloud solves for M&E companies, it also creates new challenges that need to be overcome.

For example, cloud platforms can provide geographically distributed data centers that enable media companies to deliver content more efficiently to global audiences. But this, in turn, requires a high performance edge caching and content delivery solution that can handle peaks in demand, reducing latency and improving the streaming experience.

One of the strengths of a cloud storage solution is that it can offer a secure, scalable, and cost-effective option for storing vast amounts of media content. Media assets stored in the cloud can then be organised, tagged, and retrieved easily from anywhere and at any time, empowering broadcasters to efficiently manage their libraries and enable faster content discovery.

With the addition of AI in the cloud, broadcasters and media organisations can enhance content recommendation, automate metadata tagging, as well as enable real-time video analysis and personalised advertising, enhancing user engagement and monetisation.

But… There’s still a question of whether cloud storage is right for every use-case and whether on-prem storage (or a hybridised mix of the two) is a better choice. How scalable is it? What are the cost implications of managing exabyte-scale levels of data? Can a cloud solution provide a truly seamless experience that unites siloed data, allowing media and broadcasting organisations to securely share and analyse information across multiple clouds and geographies?

Here’s another example. Cloud-based platforms increasingly offer robust solutions for live streaming and over-the-top (OTT) content delivery. Such platforms can handle the complexities of live event broadcasting, support scalable streaming, and deliver high-quality video across multiple devices and platforms.

But… Do the production teams using these platforms have the cloud workflow tools that enable them to easily store, share, and organise media efficiently? Can they edit in the cloud? Do the platforms work on-premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid configuration? Do they integrate seamlessly with Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Media Composer, and other creative applications?

Cloud-based collaboration tools can (and do) facilitate seamless collaboration between teams working on content production and post-production processes. The right tools allow distributed teams to access shared resources, collaborate in real-time, and streamline the content creation workflow, improving productivity and reducing time-to-market. But do you have the right tools? IBC