Upload
lorenzo-mendoza
View
219
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/9/2019 Accenture Content and the Cloud
1/7
Content and the CloudHow cloud computing will help the broadcastand entertainment industry innovate, adapt,
and achieve high performance
8/9/2019 Accenture Content and the Cloud
2/7
The transformation currently underway
in the media market is as profound and
impactful as the reinvention of the
music industry by Apple. In that scenar-
io, a nontraditional player leveraged an
innovative platform to drive incredible
change. Apples iPod device and iTunes
delivery system set a standard that
captured consumers and completely
altered the business model.
The banking sector in the final decades
of the 20th century stands as another
example. In that industry, electronic
capabilities brought new trading
techniques on the business side, while
ATMs and online access freed consumersto conduct transactions on their own
schedule. The business model dramati-
cally changed and continues to be
built around that electronic platform.
From a broadcast perspective, similar
changes accelerated by cloud comput-
ing may soon inspire the same type of
disruption and open doors for fierce
competition. The industry faces a
number of intriguing challenges that
can be addressed by cloud technologies:
Viewers are consuming content
through a wide variety of channels.
Television, PC, mobile, tabletthe
proliferation of devices demands a
more flexible business model that
can recoup revenue from a highly
segmented audience.
Because of the focus on consumer
access, the digital value chain is beingturned on its head. The power that
used to lie with distributors is now
owned by content producers, further
disrupting the delivery model.
Technical requirements are changing;
content providers and distributors
alike need scalable IT solutions to
keep pace. With millions of users
demanding an entirely new level of
capacity, current IT infrastructure is
simply not up to the task.
Adapting to a new environm
speed and innovation. Compa
more computing power to im
workflow, business analytics
input customer feedback into
and service cycles.
Cloud computing creates a plat
which companies of all sizes ca
pete on storage, distribution of
content and computing capaci
business solutions. In the face
new challenges, it enables com
to apply a new set of dynamics
launch them into a leadership
Just as important, sitting idle w
others test the technology will companies on the sidelines as c
tors capitalize on the tremendo
potential offered by the cloud.
There is a power shift occurring in broadcasand entertainment, as consumers now live ian on-demand world and content producersare stealing the spotlight from distributors.New device, delivery, and workflow technolooffer opportunities for high performancecompanies of all sizes to take the lead, andcloud computing is poised to make an impa
by supporting the next round of breakthrou
Content and t
8/9/2019 Accenture Content and the Cloud
3/7
Content and
1 Not just blue-sky thinking: Cloud computing and the digital supply chain , C. David Wolf, Thomas Van de Velde,
Ross Sonnabend, Accenture Point of View, 2009
its most basic level, cloud computing
ows usersfrom consumers to con-
nt providers to distributorsto obtain
mputing capabilities through the
ternet, regardless of their physical
cation. Computing clouds are in
sence online, supersized data centers
ntaining tens of thousands of servers
osting web applications. Cloud services
om raw infrastructure to complete
siness processes can be purchased
rough web interfaces and turned on
d off as they are needed.
oud computing is still in early stages
t has the potential for rapid, wide-
read adoption as executives across industries begin to understand its
plications. The list of providers is also
owing, with players like Amazon,
Google and Microsoft leading the field
and other entrants like salesforce.com
focusing on specific business functions.
Using the cloud, computing resources
can be acquired faster and less expen-
sively than through traditional hardware
procurement. The cloud can scale up
and be put in play in mere minutes,
as opposed to the months it takes to
procure and configure hardware needed
to process peak data loads. The avail-
ability of nearly unlimited infrastructure
resources means that a digital supply
chain can adapt much faster to changes
in demand.
In addition to low cost and ease of
access, a cloud computing platform
improves the customer experience
and workforce productivity; companies
can focus on managing content and
business operations and let the cloud
provider handle hardware maintenance,
upgrades and other issues that
accompany running a data center.
Workflow and analytics solutions
also become more easily managed, as
software and computing power can be
supplied by the cloud, allowing workers
to gain access to enterprise enabling
software anywhere, anytime. This hides
complexity from the customer, shifts
the operational and risk burdens to the
cloud provider and brings significant
infrastructure savings made possibleby scalable utilization of the cloud
(See Figure 1).1
Customers risk & cost
-house operated platform Cloud operated platform
i
i li
l i i li l i
gure 1. In-house operation vs. Cloud operation
l l l SoftwareOperating System, programs
Hardware
CPUs, storage, switches, cabling, memory
Physical facility
Electricity, cooling, floor space, security
The Power of the Cloud
Content and the Cloud
8/9/2019 Accenture Content and the Cloud
4/7
Four reasons that cloud will make animpact on broadcast & entertainmen
The 2009 Accenture Global Content
Study surveyed industry executives who
pointed to a common conclusion: future
revenue growth in the multi-device
world depends on delivering the right
quality and genre of content to the right
consumers over the right platform. This
requires, firstly, deep customer insight to
develop and target offerings across the
relevant delivery channels; and secondly,
the ability to serve those channels at
low marginal cost.2
These two needs can be directly
addressed in the cloud, giving companiesa low cost option to achieve high perfor-
mance goals. With this in mind, there
are four key reasons that broadcast and
entertainment will innovate and grow
with cloud computing.
1. Consumers demanddigital freedom
Consumer need is a clear driver for cloud
adoption. Viewing habits are changing
from month to month, and the delivery
methods are constantly advancing to
keep pace. With new distribution
avenues forming the primary source of
future revenue growth, business leaders
believe the channels most threatened
by change are traditional television,
print and retail (see Figure 2). In
contrast, online portals, streaming,
social media and eCommerce are the
least threatened.3
The assessment reflects tangible trends,as mobile devices and PCs become more
ingrained in everydayand everynight
use. This constant connectivity is a
crucial area of evolution that under-
scores the need for cloud. People are
more and more frequently accessing
content via networks, which translates
into an increase in IP usage that requires
greater hardware access.
In fact, as broadband connectivity at
home becomes a standard for most U.S.
households, consumers are calling for
more flexibility in concurrent viewing
options. People want content available
on multiple platforms and through any
devicewatching television in one room,
gaming in another, and listening to
online radio in another demands a
centralized system and an upgrade in
IP-based processing that can only be
efficiently achieved with cloud technology.
2. Businesses need the cloudphysically to accommodatecontent demands
Broadcast and entertainment companies
are well aware that consumers are now
calling the shots. With digital demandthat rises and falls in unpredictable
cycles, distribution demands are surpass-
ing realistic hardware capacity. This is
particularly evident in the case of User
Generated Contentespecially video
whose storage requirements dwarf
professionally produced content. At the
same time, the task of reformat
content, whether from analog t
or for a new digital distribution
is a time consuming manual ta
could be automated with the r
amount of on-demand comput
Social networking and online e
yet another area that battles ag
bandwidth during processing a
width peak usage. Online comm
become active in waves around
such as Fantasy Sports drafts a
Facebook holiday photo posting
more harrowing, an update in s
network privacy setting option
millions of people reconfigure s
settings in their online commu
changes touch their many cont
the demand for computing pow
explodes exponentially.
Cloud computing is uniquely suaddress these challenges, as its
for use model allows clients to
add or subtract server units fro
account; in times of significant
they need only to ramp up thei
space to meet demand for com
power.
Traditional TV
Retail
Print 43%
40%
1st choice 2nd choice 3rd choice
2 This time, its personal: Engaging and interacting with consumers is the content industrys new battleground,
the Accenture Global Content Study 2009, Mark Vernocchi, David Wolf, James Scott, Ross Sonnabend. Accenture 2009
3 Ibid
Figure 2. Which is the most vulnerable distribution channel used by consum
access content? (Choice ranked in top three.)
Content and tntent and the Cloud
8/9/2019 Accenture Content and the Cloud
5/7
Content an
e business response to consumer
mand is giving rise to a repositioning
the value chain. A chain that used to
ly on giants of the industry to bring
edia from the cinema, to DVDs, to
y per view is now flipping around to
mphasize on-demand access. Content
oviders that can use inexpensive
eans to provide viewers with real-time
thorization and high-quality, fast
livery will ultimately gain the trust
the user communityand with that
ust, a great deal of leverage to control
arket share.
. Businesses need the cloudo compete on analytics
addition to helping with storage
d delivery, cloud computing opens a
teway to improved business intelli-
nce and workflow. By providing more
mputing power as needed, the cloud
ables companies to gather intelli-
nce on the fly and adapt to findings
st as quickly. This application should
rn high consideration from marketing
ecutives, as according to the 2009
ontent Study, over 70 percent of inter-
ewees believe that robust consumer
ta capabilities are an enabler of
mpetitive advantage.4
ch deep customer insight will pave
e way to a higher success rate in
pturing and retaining viewers; tailor-
g advertising and content is a complex
ocess made simpler in the cloud.
ustomers that can more easily locate
hat they want to watch translates intotisfied viewers who are likely to return
the distributor, presenting a win-win
tuation from the back end all the way
rough the viewing screen.
Analytics also play a critical and practi-
cal role in interacting with consumers
in a real-time environment. Ratings and
usage trends provided by consumers
provide immediate direction for the
relationship. For example, online radio
leader Pandora has secured a devoted
following in large part because of its
ability to track user behavior and provide
playlists that closely correlate with
demonstrated musical tastes. This model
is fully dependant on aggregating and
analyzing user feedback, a task that calls
for significant computing power supplied
by the cloud. In a similar vein, ApplesGenius feature for iTunes takes a snap-
shot of listener selections and sends
the information to the cloud. The results
return to the listener in the form of a
specialized playlist that reflects the
data. While these applications provide
advanced functionality for listeners,
they also provide the basis for a ccurate
sales recommendations of songs and
products.
4. Workplace and consumerinnovators are seeking anaccelerant in the clouds
One of the most intriguing benefits
of cloud computing is the incredible
flexibility it offers to players of any size.
Early users will surely center on storage
issues, but this could quickly evolve into
a hybrid model that enables experimen-
tation with limited risk and reduced
time to market. For companies that
are more interested in pioneering newbusiness strategies, the cloud provides
a platform to invent, test and roll out
innovation to the marketplace.
At a minimum, the broadcast and
entertainment industry is ripe for the
move of current workflow applications
to a software as a service (Saas) model,
in which players large and small can
access needed applications via the web
as they need them. In a traditionally
fragmented industry, using a shared
resource is an ideal approach for large
firms that have employees spread across
the country and boutiques that are
working on a limited budget.
Using the additional freedoms opened up
by cloud can also inspire innovation tocreate new software suites that provide
competitive advantage. For example,
demands on distributors are exploding
with the development of devices on
which consumers can view content.
Adjusting content to meet widely
varied formatting requirements calls for
tremendous manual labor, but cloud
computing boosts the development of
new applications that can help automate
the process and can be accessed from
any online location. A world of possibility
will be open to companies that capitalize
on technology to complete tasks using a
better, faster and cheaper solution.
Looking to the future, cloud technolo-
gies will provide a forum for established
companies and startups alike to engage
in healthy competition for the next big
thing. Remember, Apple was not in the
music business before iTunes.
4 This time, its personal: Engaging and interacting with consumers is the content industrys new battleground, the
Accenture Global Content Study 2009, Mark Vernocchi, David Wolf, James Scott, Ross Sonnabend. Accenture 2009
Content and the Cloud
8/9/2019 Accenture Content and the Cloud
6/7
Companies are already feeling the pull of
cloud computing, but recognize that an
immediate wholesale shift is unlikely.
Business leaders should take a few steps
to be certain that cloud is the right fit:
Appoint a cloud leadershipteam
Driving change across an organization
requires a concerted, coordinated effort
that should be led by a team of both
business and IT leaders. The team should
be fully briefed on the objectives of test-
ing or implementing cloud, the scope of
the process, the benefits expected and
clear deadlines. Once in a position to take
action, communication can be a ggressive-
ly pushed to individual stakeholders and
the broader organization to ensure com-
plete buy-in.
Understand the size of theprize and the immediatepriorities
Cloud computing has potential to disrupt
the industry and individual businesses,
both positively and negatively. The team
should develop a position on how the
technology will impact business. From a
strategic standpoint, that means consid-
ering how cloud can create new business
opportunities, new competitive rivalries,
new channels to market and how the
technology can accelerate existing needs.
On the tactics side, companies should
assess where the cost savings will be
gained, how business processes will be
enhanced and how technology will be
streamlined and standardized.
Identify candidate processes
There may be too much change associat-
ed with a move to cloud computing to
contemplate making a wholesale shift.
Companies need to understand which
changes are going to have the most
profound impact and prioritize isolated
initiatives based on business benefits,
difficulty of migration and associated
investments. Selecting the right processes
to test in the cloud requires an internal
check to identify non-core processes that
are ripe for technical automation and can
be run in the cloud.
Keeping data private and secure is a key
issue and should be given strong consid-
eration during the selection process.
Protecting assets that are uploaded to the
cloud is the single more pressing concern
for broadcast and entertainment execu-
tives know the consequences of poor
security; lost or pirated content translates
into a significant loss of revenue.
Users must sort out what level of control
they have over assets that enter the
cloud. Some vendors provide reasonable
assurances and use internationally
accepted practices for holding data.
However, organizations should still
engage in threat modeling to determine
the real versus perceived risks. For
example, a company that takes on sole
responsibility for protecting assets should
ensure its cloud provider accepts some
level of liability while data is in its control.
Analyze demand cycles
With the business operation identified,
companies can then profile how their
operations change during peaks and
valleys of consumption. For example, the
year-end holiday season may bring more
media distribution demand, providing
an opportunity to expand use of cloud
computing instead of overbuying hard-
ware to service that narrow window.When putting together a business case,
cloud technology should be able to signif-
icantly improve the operation in terms of
manpower, hardware and ease of use.
Test at peak times
Leaders should tap into the high-demand
period to test a minor operation with a
cloud provider. From a cost perspective,
companies can then extrapolate
results to gauge the impact on
systems and active business per
For example, the ABC television
Extreme Makeover, Home Editio
enced sizable spikes in website
for each of its unique episode p
Sites regularly crashed and the
required over 100 servers durin
periods and 50 to 60 updates p
prevent prolonged outages. Wh
computing was implemented, se
automatically scaled to accomm
peaks and valleys of demand, e
the need to dedicate significan
er and energy to future spikes.5
The broadcast and entertainme
tion shows no signs of slowing
release of the iPad, a Netflix de
Nintendo to stream video throu
consoles and the rapid advance
technology all typify the rapid r
new options.
Industry shifts that address the
evolutionary pace are already a
as evidenced by the recent inclu
Content Delivery Networks (CD
major cloud providers. CDNs all
faster, front end delivery of hig
width items such as professiona
duced content. By adding this f
companies like Amazon (with C
and Microsoft ( with Azure) are
their ability to offer their cloud
ability to deliver high quality co
quickly, while delivering conten
less frequently in less expensive
scale areas of their cloud data c
Staying agile amidst these chan
critical for large or traditional d
while the even playing field pro
cloud computing presents trem
opportunities for young innovat
every pocket of the industry and
customers it serves, the cloud h
potential to support a new era o
and distribution.
Taking steps towards cloud computin
5 TV Web Site Opts For Cloud Servers, Information Week, October 30, 2009
Content and tntent and the Cloud
8/9/2019 Accenture Content and the Cloud
7/7
Copyright 2010 Accenture
All rights reserved.
Accenture, its logo, and
High Performance Delivered
are trademarks of Accenture.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management
consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company, with morethan 181,000 people serving clients in
more than 120 countries. Combining
unparalleled experience, comprehen-
sive capabilities across all industries
and business functions, and extensive
research on the worlds most success-
ful companies, Accenture collaborates
with clients to help them become
high-performance businesses and
governments. The company generated
net revenues of US$21.58 billion for
the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2009.Its home page is www.accenture.com.