What is the new shape of the video industry and efficiency improvement using the cloud?

Table of contents

Issues faced by the video industry

When it comes to the film industry, there is a well-established image of long working hours and hard work. Nowadays, video content is also diversifying due to the diversification of hobbies and tastes. With the development of technology, anyone can now easily create high-quality content. In addition, various videos have become freely available on social networking sites, etc., and young people are becoming less interested in watching television. Additionally, the chronic shortage of human resources involved in video production is a serious problem.

Here we introduce the main challenges faced by the video industry in content production and content management.

Content production challenges

Content production can be divided into three aspects: content creation, management, and distribution.

First of all, in terms of content creation, we are facing a major issue in that the production speed is unavoidably slow. Until a while ago, it was important to produce high-quality content, but today, the priority is to produce content of a certain level of quality as quickly as possible. There are many steps involved in producing a single film, including filming, editing, and corrections. There are also multiple factors that can be considered, such as the long travel time to the filming location, a lack of manpower due to budget cuts, and the lack of experience of the person in charge.

There are also challenges around content management. For example, videos use a lot of content, but when there is too much content, problems such as “inability to index search” and “it takes time to search” occur. Furthermore, even if index processing is performed, the problem remains that as the amount of data increases, the processing becomes heavier and takes more time.

In content distribution, there is the issue of forming individual recommendations through appropriate target analysis. In recent years, content from companies such as Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube has emerged, and the number of TV stations entering the market is increasing. However, unlike television, users only watch what they want to watch. Therefore, rather than having the created content viewed by a wide range of people, it is necessary to analyze it based on user attributes, purchase history, etc., and recommend it to the most appropriate target.

Core system issues

ERP systems are an important solution for managing video content. For example, using SAP ERP, you can visualize information such as who has the copyright agreement for content produced by your company, how much revenue is being generated, and which content is growing. . It is important that this data is shared and analyzed by all departments, including production, sales, accounting, and management, and that it is available for viewing at any time.

Recently, major video production companies are increasingly migrating their on-premise core systems to the cloud. While on-premises systems are highly scalable, they have disadvantages such as the need for individual management, the difficulty in obtaining maintenance parts for specialized systems, and the difficulty in ensuring stable operation.

Successful migrations to the cloud can reap significant benefits for businesses. For example, it is possible to centrally manage the above information and use it as data for management policies, or use real-time information as an indicator for content production.

Cloud implementation example in the video industry

Moving from on-premises to the cloud is a big shift. Here, we will introduce two examples of successful cloud implementation in the video industry.

Supporting “cloud editing” of TV programs (Sapporo Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd.)

Sapporo Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (STV) was having problems moving personnel and equipment when conducting long-distance reporting. Increasing the number of personnel and equipment increases transportation costs, and lack of manpower means that editing work for other programs becomes impossible, increasing the amount of work required for each person. Budget cuts and talent shortages are serious challenges not only for STV but for the broadcasting industry .

That’s why we turned to Microsoft Azure, a cloud service for video editing. By leveraging content storage and editing tools in the cloud, you can edit without being physically present.

First, as a trial, I started by covering a professional baseball camp. The campsite is in Nago City, Okinawa, far away from Hokkaido, where STV is located. Although the distance is about 2,000 km, the work was completed in 4 hours by uploading the materials to the cloud and editing them. The edited footage was successfully broadcast on the same night.

The success of this experiment has led to reductions in transportation costs and improved work efficiency. Additionally, because Azure can be used hybridly with on-premises, it has the advantage of being readily available for companies that find it difficult to migrate completely.

Migrating SAP ERP to cloud (Toei Animation Co., Ltd.)

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. was building its core system on-premises. However, in addition to the fact that management was becoming individualized, it was also difficult to procure maintenance parts, leading to concerns about the continuation of business activities.

Therefore, we decided to migrate our on-premises SAP ERP to the cloud service Microsoft Azure. As a result, we were able to standardize management, eliminate the risk of failure on the cloud without having to procure parts, and solve the above issues.

SQL Server’s file compression feature significantly reduces total disk space and improves SAP ERP performance. This also resulted in a reduction in information-related expenses. We expect a cost reduction of 30% compared to conventional methods.

Solving video industry challenges with Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is the perfect system for moving core systems to a cloud environment. In addition to cloud environments, you can also build on-premises and cloud hybrid environments. It can be implemented with low risk since you don’t have to migrate everything at the same time.

It is also possible to approach content production and core system construction, which are issues in the video industry. Video content can be stored in the cloud, allowing smooth exchange even in remote locations. Like STV, you can upload content from a remote location and edit it at the headquarters. Management is seamless and searchable by video and audio metadata. This not only frees up computer resources, but also improves work efficiency.

This type of content exchange is available worldwide. Even if you are outsourcing work overseas, you will be able to better coordinate and improve work efficiency.

Furthermore, “Azure Media Services” smoothly supports live streaming distribution. It can be used for any size event, from company meetings to sporting and music events. Since it can reach users using various devices, it can also be used to broadcast events without spectators, which are spreading due to the new coronavirus.

summary

With the development of IT technology, changes are occurring in the video production industry. The issues of production speed and unnecessary costs that have been an issue up until now can be resolved by using the cloud.

When migrating from on-premises to the cloud, make good use of Microsoft Azure, which allows you to use both in a hybrid manner to promote business reform.