The direct-to-consumer revolution is not only transforming the consumer experience, but it’s also transforming how content is backhauled. The rapid expansion of high-definition video and livestreaming adds to the challenge of that transition. As such, more of an emphasis will be placed on producing anywhere and lowering latency in 2024.
The Complexity of Multicloud Environments
Cloud adoption had already been steadily climbing in the decade leading up to 2020, but during the lockdown it skyrocketed, owing in no small part to the need for remote collaboration across the media and entertainment supply chain. The benefits include tremendous flexibility, accessibility, processing power, affordable storage, and efficient collaboration on the production side, from editing to sound to animation. The advantages are great, which is why we’ll certainly see continued growth in cloud adoption in 2024, but there are associated challenges.
The architectural complexity of multicloud environments is hard to manage. Engineers can more easily familiarize themselves with a single cloud environment, which is simpler to mold to the needs of an organization. The more technologies are incorporated, the more of an undertaking implementation becomes, leading to delays, increased costs and more troubleshooting.
Additionally, managing a growing roster of SaaS providers has become more of a burden. As such, companies will increasingly look to partners that can offer multiple solutions on one platform as a way to reduce costs, boost productivity and streamline operations.
The explosion of FAST Channels, IP delivery, OTT and other bandwidth-intensive advancements only complicates matters further. As a result, companies will increasingly invest in technologies and solutions that will help address those capacity challenges. Edge technology, for example, enables organizations to process and analyze data much faster, while potentially bolstering security by reducing the distance that data travels from the production to the end consumer.
The Cybersecurity Challenge of a Decentralized Supply Chain
In 2017, hackers obtained the files of the yet-to-be-released fifth season of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black. Even though Netflix refused to comply with the ransom, the PR fiasco served as a reminder for the media and entertainment industry: Your cybersecurity is only as strong as your weakest link.
In this case Netflix felt the experience they already provided consumers was better than what any hacker could provide. As details emerged hackers didn’t steal the files directly from Netflix. They stole it from a post-production company working on Netflix’s signature series.
The decentralized nature of the media and entertainment industry means that exposure is often interconnected. Media and entertainment companies engage with a wide variety of third-party providers, particularly on big productions, which can include special effects, animation, sound, graphics, so on and so forth.
With so much data and intellectual property outsourced across a constellation of players, which may include smaller production studios, freelancers and other contractors, it can be difficult limiting the number of people who have access to business-critical information. Some vendors may be specialty studios that lack the resources for dedicated security personnel, which could effectively serve as a backdoor for hackers to obtain valuable data that wouldn’t have otherwise been able to get.
The In-venue Use Case
With more valuable content on the cloud, therefore, the need for robust cybersecurity solutions has emerged as a priority for the industry—a trend that will only accelerate in the following year. While investing in threat detection and perimeter security solutions goes a long way toward mitigating risk, how these organizations structure their networks will have a big impact on security. Consider the in-venue example.
Historically, venues have posed challenges both for venue operators and consumers with regard to internet access. Anyone who’s been to a large sporting event or concert, for example, can testify to the difficulty of accessing the internet. There’s just too many people trying to gain access at the same time—and often with highly bandwidth-intensive activities like livestreaming. Couple that with high-resolution video, interactive experiences, and broadcasting and/or livestreaming production setups on the venue side, and the bandwidth demands skyrocket.
As a result, more and more venue operators are investing in private networks, which deliver greater capacity, speed and security. Connecting a MEC solution to the private 5G network can accommodate applications with a requirement for ultra-low latency and can provide greater support for differentiated experiences, onsite analytics and AI applications.
Controlling data and IP in 2024
This year, media and entertainment companies will continue to invest in IP connectivity, cloud, Edge and private network solutions. They’ll continue to invest in 5G because it provides the capacity they need to process and analyze large amounts of data. Investing in capacity and speed leads to more responsive systems and applications.
Keeping more data onsite and on the Edge generally helps reduce the security risk. Media and entertainment companies will seek tighter control of their network in the face of continuing threats and industry flux.
