In Broadcast - NABSHOW 2016 - 78


78

www.inbroadcast.com | NAB SHOW 16-21 April 2016 | InShow Guide

Integrating the Future:
Flexibility with IP-based and
Cross-Platform Media Solutions
arvato Systems' solutions support existing and future business needs of
broadcasters and media companies...
The Future of the Broadcasting
and Media Industries
Recent studies confirm the
key trends that will impact
the broadcasting and media
industries across the world
today and tomorrow. The
first is transition to IP-based
infrastructures,
including
SDI-to-IP, with displacement of
proprietary hardware and software
along with virtualised and cloudbased deployments. The second is
expansion, not replacement, of the
linear broadcasting model to include
Omni-platform content delivery and
revenue generation.
These trends are not news to arvato
Systems, which has been working on
these topics in close collaboration
with customers in North America, the
Middle East, and across Europe, for
quite some time.
In order to achieve the overarching
objectives of these dominant industry
trends - flexibility, scalability,
increased operational efficiency, and
"elasticity" to meet future demands
- arvato Systems recognises that
the following key factors must play
into solution design and technology
choices:
* Reliance on proven, off-the-shelf
technology for platforms (operating
systems, databases, development
frameworks, etc., as well as hardware)
* Solution hardware and software
independence to avoid proprietary
vendor lock
* Strict adherence to standards to
avoid future expensive guesswork
* Efficient use of documented APIs
for advanced integration between
components in the ecosystem for
building file-based and automated
workflows
* Independence of client operating
platform, as well as locationindependent access, with browserbased user interfaces
The
broadcasting
technology
industry is experiencing a shift in the
fundamental design and engineering

VPMS is engineered with the technology and interfaces to integrate
into existing and future broadcasting infrastructures.

of the solutions it employs. The
features of purpose-built hardware
- and even software - are collapsing
into smaller form factors and moving
to off-the-shelf technology. In itself,
this is a positive and cost-saving
trend, but the changing mindset of
both manufacturers and customers
that it brings is even more significant:
build deliver to be flexible; deliver to
be integrated.
Increased
openness
demands
increased
responsibility,
and
manufacturers can no longer claim
that the advantages of proprietary
standards interpretations outweigh
the costs of integration and
interoperability. The acceleration of
change for media companies means
that those that are slowed down by
closed-off and inflexible systems will
be the first to succumb to predatory
competition.
Closely related to the adherence
to standards is also the willingness
of
solution
manufacturers
to
provide open, documented APIs.
These APIs must be offered to

not only customers and partners,
but also openly and willingly to
companies normally thought of as
"competitors". Previously, it may
have been acceptable to the endcustomer that manufacturers behaved
in isolationist ways, but the future
demands a change to this as well.
Well-constructed, documented, and
accessible APIs will pose no threat to
loss of intellectual properties, and
manufacturers should "play nice"
with each other - for the good of the
customer.
The popularity of the browser-based
application client as the main user
interface has driven not only the
evolution of software systems that
enable remote user access, but also a
new paradigm in the implementation
of workflow design and individual task
execution. Software manufacturers
must work closely with customers
to better understand how complex
processes can be broken down
into not only individual tasks that,
although part of an automated endto-end workflow, are easy to learn

arvato Systems' VPMS is an integrated solution

and perform - regardless of which
device the user prefers to execute
them on. For the software engineers
and designers, this means that they
have to take great care in creating
functional
and
user-friendly
interfaces for forms and screens
that follow common conventions
in web-based design. Customdeveloped and OS-specific plugins are no longer acceptable.
This is by no means an
exhaustive list of factors that will
impact the future of technology for
broadcasting and new media. Visions
and solutions evolve not only from the
research lab, but also from working in
partnership with customers.
arvato Systems' Solutions
arvato Systems is a global IT systems
integrator and solutions provider that
focuses on the digital transformation
across several target industries. With
the expertise of over 3,000 people
in more than 25 locations worldwide,
arvato Systems creates entire value
chains and builds integrated and
future-proof solutions to help make its
customers agile and competitive.
It understands broadcasters and
media companies, and has built the
software to support their existing
and future business needs with an
extensive portfolio of solutions:
* VPMS - enterprise-class media
asset management
* AdStore - unified cross-media ad
sales
* EditMate - collaborative editing
and project management
* S4AdOpt - ad placement and
revenue optimisation
* Avatega - cross-platform rights
management and scheduling
* Avaresco - media analytics for
intelligent business decisions
* ClipJOCKEY - versatile studio
production tool
Customers in more than 30 countries
benefit from arvato Systems' media
industry expertise and solutions
for
broadcast
management,
media asset management, and
publishing, marketing and enterprise
management.
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://s4m.arvato-systems.com
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