Andy Warman Imagine Communications Senior VP, product
How have you seen the cloud develop since your time working in this area? There are many clear advantages for customers using the cloud or planning to move to the cloud. Foremost among these is flexibility and the ability to experiment and change your mind. Cloud is not an all-or-nothing proposition, but a mechanism that provides new and interesting ways to solve problems that are not possible with on- premises solutions. Not owning all the infrastructure can be liberating – particularly when you would not have used portions of it 24/7. Since there is no need for all the planning involved in purchasing, deploying and commissioning hardware before rolling out a set of tools or a complex system, many person-hours are saved and no capital expense is required. Similarly, since software running in the cloud is consumed on a usage basis, money is not tied to paying for perpetual software licences before they can be used. A big one: How do you personally define the cloud? When anyone mentions cloud to me, I take it to mean the public cloud from a provider such as Amazon, Google or Microsoft. Anyone looking for an on-premises solution in
their own data centre will tend to specify running in a data centre, virtualisation or private cloud. What are the most exciting trends we are seeing emerge within cloud offerings? There is a lot of untapped potential in the cloud, including the freedom to experience and try new ideas to see if they work – with modest consequences for failure. Exciting trends continue to emerge as vendors attempt more sophisticated workflows and see new ways to use the cloud that would have been more difficult or impossible with on- premises-only solutions. Business continuity (disaster recovery) is a great example of a trend that is gaining a lot of attention. Conventional thinking says that we need to build two systems, usually in two geographic locations, to ensure operational continuity in the event of a major outage or natural disaster. Cloud changes this by allowing resources to be turned on as needed or be present and available in case calamity strikes. It is also becoming easier to step in and out of the cloud, for example, uplinking and downlinking live streams to the cloud using JPEG XS and transport streams. And ground and cloud routing can now be more effectively managed and integrated
to create a seamless experience when operating a hybrid on- premises/cloud deployment for live sources and live workflows. How has the cloud helped to define the M&E trades as we see them today? Cloud is a great enabler. During the pandemic, many organisations were forced to try the cloud and leverage the internet. When they tried it, and pushed the boundaries of what they thought was possible, many were pleasantly surprised at the flexibility of the cloud and have not returned to conventional ways of doing business. Cloud lets us think differently, try new approaches, and find new and often better ways of solving problems and being more effective – workflow-wise and cost-wise. The future is bright. Broadcasters and media organisations are only scratching the surface of what is possible when they embrace it. And it requires a different mindset when looking at the pros and cons between on-premises and cloud solutions. Cloud is a rented resource – one that can be paid for monthly or based on hours and/or gigabytes consumed. If you understand how this can impact your business, you can make purchasing and operational decisions that add agility and efficiency. There is a balance to strike between workflows and solutions that should remain on-premises and those that will be better in the cloud. What does the future hold for the cloud (especially for broadcasters and media organisations)?
THERE ARE MANY CLEAR ADVANTAGES FOR CUSTOMERS USING THE CLOUD
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