Four years ago, the skies over broadcasting were starting to cloud over. No matter which part of the industry you were part of Cloud computing was a focal talking point, given its huge potential for change. But... with security concerns prominent industry adoption was still somewhat in question.

“Vendors, large and small, from across the industry, will no doubt be talking about or showing off their new cloud-enabled/based/compatible/native product offerings. And for good reason. The cloud has a lot to offer broadcasting and it would almost be negligent of those responsible for technology, product and service selection within a media organisation not to be at least familiar with developments in this area.

However, there are some common reservations and concerns that potential and actual users of today’s cloud services hold. One of the more prominent is security, or perceived lack of it, in shared public cloud environments.”

Sept. 2014: Red Bee Media [link]

Fast forward four years

Having last month experienced IBC 2018 - it’s clear to us that any notion of the Cloud being a ‘future trend’ in broadcast is comical. Cloud solutions are a reality across the board. Here and now - bringing with them an ever-increasing demand for new skill sets, in many cases not previously found with our industry.

Even just twelve months ago broadcasting Cloud products were still very much in dark rooms and quiet conversations.

In comparison, this year we witnessed solutions that were ‘upcoming’ in 2017... now built, tested, functional and monetised; offering solutions with evidential success stories from real-world working environments. Whether we’re talking about media content workflows, scalable streaming architecture, or the variety of SaaS products coming into broadcast - it’s clear that the landscape has changed and Cloud assimilation has become an accepted part of many broadcasters roadmaps.

We also noted a high number of new Cloud computing platforms and SaaS companies entering the market, as competition to exploit this unchartered space continues to grow. Journalist Ambrose McNevin discusses this further in his article for IBC at [link]. Quoting Equinix’s Matt George from that article;

 “The picture in the market today is made up of two significant influences, which is seeing companies being pushed from different angles,” says George. “There are the advances in tech, which you can track but can’t control, and consumer expectations and demand for new experiences which you can’t control yet must be serviced in areas such as the desire to download and watch content anywhere. This second point is a big shift from the idea that everything is made for the biggest screen possible – as many satellite and traditional broadcasters believed until recently. Now satellite has shifted from dish and box to OTT platforms and that means using the cloud.”

 In April we wrote about the Broadcast industries migration to the Cloud [link]. Speaking with contacts at IBC we’re able to report that top concerns and most requested skills have remained consistent with our earlier insights. Previously we noted scalability, sign on size, downtime and business-critical needs as the primary concerns - along with the need to locate people from aligned markets like eGaming (an area we also saw significant growth in at this years IBC).

For more insights on Cloud in Broadcast or to explore our capabilities for sourcing Broadcast technology professionals, speak to us via contact@caspianone-broadcast.com