MONTREAL—Grass Valley announced this week that it saw an overall growth rate of 24% in 2021 (over 2020), driven by an increase in share gains on its product suite, significant market acceptance of its cloud native applications suite, and record backlog driven by large multi-year enterprise deals.
The company said its strategy of combining its product portfolio with its cloud-first operating system and related cloud applications has resulted in “meaningful growth” and market share gains in several categories.
GV said it has made “significant investments” in its global cloud capabilities through its Center of Excellence (COE) facilities, made changes to its management team, had several new product announcements in its anchor products, and announced a new strategic rebrand under "We Love Live" signifying a reinvigorated commitment to the future of the live media market.
"We are determined to lead the digital transition of the industry for live events and news for the entertainment industry", said Louis Hernandez Jr., Executive Chairman of Grass Valley. "Our unique combination of the most recognized products in the industry with leading cloud native applications are designed to provide our clients with the agility, flexibility and economic efficiency that is needed in today's market. I'm very excited for the team to see such strong market acceptance."
In 2021, Grass signed more than $140 million in enterprise deals with leading media companies such as Gravity Media, GOL TV, Qvest and Broadcast Solutions. It also has fully commercialized its cloud native operating system GV AMPP (Agile Media Processing Platform), which is now in production in several prominent media organizations around the globe. This is in addition to several cloud native applications in production.
The company’s backlog also increased to a “record amount,” with contract bookings increasing by 36% compared to 2020. It also continued its expansion of its Centers of Excellence with an emphasis on cloud and IP technology and has added over 250 employees to these facilities.
Jan Lange, Chief Revenue Officer, at Grass Valley, said, "Last year, we launched our new strategic focus and rebrand, and this was the driving force behind our successful close to 2021. Our re-energized commitment to the future of media and entertainment enabled us to reach great achievements with our customers and as a company. I am so proud that Grass Valley did not simply weather 2021 and the tests it threw at us, but that we came out stronger and on a positive trajectory. We have had a fantastic start to 2022 with US$60 million in Enterprise Agreements already finalized, and I am looking forward to the achievements of the Grass Valley team this year."
Grass says in 2022 it plans to launch new commercial models, solutions and partnerships under its GV Media Universe, a digitally connected community that enables media companies to combine on-premise, hybrid and public cloud technologies to build live production environments while adapting to future demands.
