How can you build tomorrow's media infrastructure?

Effective Media Asset Management (MAM) and Media Function Virtualization (MFV) layers are at the core of the next generation architecture that content producers, owners, broadcasters and aggregators are building. But what is the best platform to build them on?

MAM and MFV decouple software from hardware and replace a host of media processing functions such as synchronisation, adaptation and mixing with cloud-based software. This can be run on a private or public cloud or both. They let you do more with less, creating an end-to-end workflow which helps you reach a broader range of consumer devices with more content versions at higher speeds.

The migration can be slow and complex and requires some big decisions, while the end product needs to deliver more than just efficiencies and scalability. How can it also generate new revenue and open up new markets?

Cloud to core balance

How far you move your services into the public cloud and how much your reserve to the business is a key strategic decision that needs to reflect your long-term vision and objectives. The hyperscale cloud delivers excellent ready-made services with great AI/ML integration as well as huge scalability, but lock-in can create pricing and agility issues further down the line. Whatever the mix you choose, you will need both and they will need to interoperate quickly and seamlessly.

Core criteria

On the facility side, there are many criteria to be met, like uptime, security, standards, remote management and sustainability credentials. But two of the most critical factors to look out for are instant access to ready-made ecosystems and proximity to the edge.

• Microservices on tap: Colocation provides ready-made in-house ecosystems. API-driven partnerships are the component that will make the new model flexible, scalable and cost-efficient, providing services like ingest and transcoding, distribution, mobile, TV and OTT services, sales and payment processing. And alongside these a range of regional, national and international IP and SDN service providers should be in place to compete for your business. This is the core ecosystem of connectivity and specialist service providers that should be in low-or-no-latency proximity to your media hub.

• A slice of the edge: Just as critical, and potentially more profitable, will be the spurs you build from these cores to the emerging edge. Data center build-outs in the sub-5ms metro edge zone will grow phenomenally over the next few years, driven by the near-site processing requirements of Ultra HD, HDR, WCG and exciting new OTT, VR and AR experiences. Much of this will be delivered over 5G, with service level differentiation via network slicing which takes place at the near edge to minimize latency and avoid network congestion.

Deeper dive: Step by step

A new solution brief from Iron Mountain Data Centers sets out the key commercial and technological drivers that are moving the content and digital media industry in this direction. It also proposes a phased approach to the migration process and shows how an easy to replicate core-to-cloud-to-edge cluster can be built to serve key existing markets and break into new ones.

Read: 'From the brink to the edge: An overview of the current challenges, drivers and opportunities for Entertainment, Content and Media infrastructure'