LEXINGTON, Mass.—Signiant and TMT Insights today announced a strategic partnership to develop a new workflow automation solution codenamed “MediaFactory” that combines Signiant’s SaaS-based content management and distribution platform with TMT’s Polaris operational management system to help M&E companies optimize their content supply chains.
Signiant’s widely deployed SaaS platform provides fast, reliable global access to media assets, regardless of storage type or location, serving as the trusted mechanism for securely exchanging content within and between media entities, according to the company.
Aided by talent and technology from recent acquisitions, Signiant is developing modern media-centric capabilities that leverage the platform’s multi-tenant architecture and the existing footprint of Signiant-connected content repositories. For example, the platform now indexes connected storage and enables users to search, play, and clip media assets. These tools pave the way for the next major building block: a highly scalable and cost-effective next-generation workflow automation solution the two companies have codenamed “Media Factory.”
TMT Insights is a professional services and software development company, providing consulting and hands-on implementation services to help customers navigate the transition to high-volume, multiplatform content lifecycles.
With a particular focus on looking holistically at the operational side of the equation, TMT’s operational management platform, Polaris, provides an all-encompassing “single pane of glass” view, sitting on top of “Media Factory” and integrating with third-party technologies to surface actionable insights and grant operational users visibility and granular control over jobs and tasks, both manual and automated. Streamlining the user experience for both individuals and teams, Polaris delivers business benefits at multiple levels, enabling media companies to efficiently leverage the disparate tools and vast amounts of data that operational users must navigate to deliver results.
Commenting on the partnership, Margaret Craig, CEO of Signiant, notes the complementary nature of the companies’ charters. “With Media Factory, we will deliver a productized, multi-tenant workflow core that codifies standard media preparation and delivery processes. Off-the-shelf functionality that delivers very fast ‘time to value’ is central to our strategy, but we also know that many media companies require the kinds of consultative professional services and bespoke interfaces that TMT provides. Through this partnership, customers can have the best of both worlds.”
As Signiant’s workflow offering matures, TMT will serve as an implementation partner to assist customers with a range of deployment and customization initiatives. In the near term, the companies plan to jointly deliver an early adopter bundle that includes a headless, API-only implementation of the Signiant workflow offering working in conjunction with a lightweight version of the TMT Polaris interface.
According to Andy Shenkler, CEO of TMT Insights, the time is right for this new partnership. “The TMT team has deep domain knowledge and real-world expertise in implementing and operating cloud-based media supply chains. We recognize the limitations of first-generation implementations. They are generally far too complex, and they lack the scalability and resiliency that are required for reliable and cost-effective fulfillment operations. Signiant is addressing these issues by building a reusable workflow core, and TMT can deliver services and software outside the product boundary to make it fit perfectly into any customer environment.”
Shenkler further notes that the companies share a number of key customers who see the partnership as highly compelling. “With media industry business models under severe pressure, there’s a growing understanding of the need for new ways of thinking about both the media technology stack and the operational processes that surround it. We’re excited to work with Signiant to lead the way into the next era.”
