The Evolution of Cloud For The Media Enterprise

How The Cloud Became Media-Friendly

There are many good reasons why media companies tend to proceed with caution when it comes to migration to the cloud. Most of these companies have large investments in their own technology as well as customized workflows that are already established. And any change that might jeopardize the security of costly intellectual property is a huge concern.  It makes total sense. Production and distribution of an infinite amount of content to an infinite number of screens is not for the timid.

But this is the perfect time to take another look. The major players in cloud for media have been listening, and the landscape has changed dramatically. The advantages of client controlled access and the convenience of micro managed versioning and distribution are just the beginning. And the cloud is more than capable of working with, not against, your current workflows.

Here’s an example of how the game has changed. As of December 2019, AWS now operates The Los Angeles Local Zone, a purpose-built service made for media giants. It places compute, storage, and other select services closer to customers, giving you the ability to run cloud based applications with single-digit millisecond latencies to end-users in LA. That’s a serious level of commitment.

Early on, there were two Goliaths. The media giants and the cloud advocates. At best, the media companies were curious about how the cloud could be good for business, and the cloud advocates were offering traditional cloud practice to the sector. The fact that The Walt Disney Company was not on the same planet as Price Waterhouse hadn’t really been addressed. Result? Slow take-up by big media.

That’s all changed. The cloud has built a new kind of infrastructure specifically designed for the business of creating and distributing content. This is the age of content meets cloud. Some of the best words to describe the new media cloud include:

• Flexible
• Custom
• Agile
• Global
• Pay-As-You-Go

Instead of a one size fits all massive migration, the new media cloud respects the way you already work. You don’t have to blow up how you do business so that down the road, things might be better. It’s now a workflow based transition where cloud services are brought to bear as needed, on your schedule, where they can be most valuable.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the mythology that has in many cases prevented media companies from taking advantage of the cloud.

3 Cloud Myths and Facts

1. All or Nothing

Myth: Our workflow, your cloud. Easy.

There used to be a persistent idea that after some new infrastructure was in place, all of your digital assets and workflow would jump over to the cloud and that would be that. You could sell off some tech, do things quicker, and have some extra square footage in the building.

In reality, it’s risky to put your work on the cloud using the so-called “lift and shift” method. Think about it. Media workflows are complex. You already have your own processes for content security, asset management, and traffic scheduling. You have developed your own ways of managing billing, advertising, rights and entitlements. You have workflows for all these functions. So why not simply copy and paste — or “lift and shift” — these operations onto the cloud? If you migrate this way, instead of building a faster, leaner operation in the cloud, you are really just dragging old technology onto this highly evolved platform. You won’t see the maximum benefits and new opportunities available in the media cloud. What’s more, cloud management can become problematic going forward.

Fact

In 2020, a smooth cloud transition is based on identifying workflow pain points in your business and moving those functions to the cloud according to your own migration plan. This will often lead to a hybrid system that includes both on-premise technology and cloud management platforms working together. It’s like a low-hanging fruit menu for the media cloud. Make improvements where you want, when you want.

2. It’s Just Tech

Myth: We know how to do technology.

No doubt media companies are tech-savvy. But the idea that a transition to the cloud is simply about technology is a myth. No amount of technological prowess is enough to manage transformation to the cloud. Even though cloud migration sounds like a tech project, it’s more of a business migration than a tech migration.

Early innovators with deep, in-house tech expertise found out that moving to the cloud touches almost every aspect of a media business.

Cloud transformation can become a substantial people issue, involving dedication to training and learning new tools. Productivity and morale are sometimes fragile enough without the added work involved with migration. In other words, your highly skilled technology team will become more than technologists. They will have to share the bigger picture and understand why cloud migration is as good for each of them as it is for the business. 

Fact

No media enterprise has to be alone in this process. In fact, there is a highly experienced infrastructure of management pathfinders who work with you directly to plan your cloud migration — at your pace. These consultants are sometimes affiliated with a cloud service, such as AWS’s Los Angeles Local Zone. There are also 3rd party groups, or managed services providers (MSPs), that do nothing but help companies manage migration. There’s no reason for any major media player to feel like they are inventing the wheel around this transition. Everything from training, recruitment and workflow adjustments is done with a road map and an extremely high level of expertise.

3. We Can Handle This

Myth: Cloud management is just management, right?

Another myth about moving to the cloud is that once you’re there, your current management team will simply refocus their energies from operating an on-premise, in-house facility to running your business in the cloud. The basic principles of good management are of course the same. Accountability. Cost control. Establishing and meeting KPI’s. Discovering new profit opportunities. Nothing new there. But what is new, are the tools and techniques needed to achieve these universal management goals once your business is integrated with the cloud.

Fact
A cloud-based enterprise is obviously not a set-it-and-forget-it situation. Once you’ve made a successful migration, you will want to maintain and improve the effectiveness of all aspects of your cloud business going forward. Continuous and effective cloud management is essential.

That’s what we do. CloudCheckr is a results-driven cloud management platform that makes the most complex cloud infrastructures easy to manage and completely secure. Once you’re in the cloud, there is a wealth of new information that—when managed properly — can lead to better control and serious new opportunities based on that new data.

Here’s how CloudCheckr can help:

Total Visibility. With CloudCheckr you get total visibility into all of your data, analytics and workflows in an actionable form, on one dashboard. We bring together all data around cost management, cloud billing, security, compliance, inventory and utilization, and automation.

Immediate Results. CloudCheckr is available within mere days, not months. Whether you start with small groups or have massively distributed cross-functional teams, CloudCheckr has the agility to handle both.

Security and Compliance. We meet and monitor the most demanding security environments in the world: fully documented and audit-ready at all times. Our security and compliance practice has earned us the Authority to Operate (ATO) on AWS and FedRAMP Ready status.

Complexity Made Simple. All billable activity is consolidated and available for review 24/7. Profit margins rise when you are only paying for exactly what you need. CloudCheckr becomes your financial “single source of truth.”

Enterprise-Approved. We work in the most demanding environments imaginable. From MediaMath and Siemens Mobility to Cornell University and Choice Hotels, savings are well-documented and have reached up to 30% for our average customer.
The bottom line is that the profitability, scalability, and sheer performance the cloud provides the media enterprise are now easier to discover and easier to manage than ever before.

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