2024 is set to be a busy year for the media and entertainment industry. With a backlog of demand from the actor and writer strikes, and, growing requirement for video streaming services, personalized content, and immersive viewing experiences, media companies have to focus on the technology that will allow them to meet the expectations of consumers. From an organizational standpoint, deploying solutions that enable efficient workflows, quicker monetization, and faster content retrieval, while also providing the highest levels of content security and integrating with the latest AI enhanced workflows will be crucial. With this in mind, there are several trends set to shape the M&E sector in the coming months.
#1: Archive Preservation Will be a Key Priority
Managing and maintaining growing volumes of media content is challenging today given the ever-evolving number of formats, resolutions, and delivery methods. Yet, preserving content is critical for monetization, maximizing viewer engagement, and driving consumer satisfaction.
In 2024 we anticipate media companies will transition to future-proof storage solutions that can handle large volumes of unstructured data. Choosing a non-proprietary storage solution that offers the right balance of security and accessibility without the high costs of the cloud will help media teams preserve valuable content for years to come.
#2: Generative AI Will Transform Media Workflows
Back in November 2023, Collins Dictionary justifiably named AI as the “word of the year.” AI is fueling increased operational efficiencies, improving the quality of media content, and paving the way for additional monetization opportunities. It’s transforming how media companies edit content, analyze footage, generate metadata, search, and even produce content. Media companies are harnessing AI in incredible ways. We’ve witnessed a major sports league utilizing semantic AI technology to render its entire archive searchable. Within seconds, it’s possible to find a touchdown or field goal that was scored, a game-winning drive, plays that involve individual athletes, and more. We’ve implemented workflows that make transcriptions into multiple languages, augment metadata from the video footage, and add video summarization. These features will aid search, reusage, and better production.
However, to fully utilize AI, media companies need faster storage access, higher bandwidth, and greater compute capacity. In 2024, we believe that a growing number of workflows will transition from the public cloud to built-for-purpose, scalable on-premises solutions and edge-based solutions that ensure content can be processed as it is captured.
As media companies look to optimize the utilization and repurposing of content for maximum monetization of their media libraries, they will actively seek out more cost-effective solutions. Traditionally, AI was employed in the public cloud, benefiting from its scalable architecture and seemingly boundless access to computational power. But with the rapid expansion of archives, the expenses associated with employing AI algorithms on potentially costly infrastructure for content analysis can become exorbitant. Adjusting algorithms, retraining models, or implementing entirely new AI algorithms proves to be financially prohibitive. In 2024, media companies will adopt on-premises object storage and on-premises Kubernetes stacks to achieve comparable results as those in the public cloud, all while minimizing management efforts and significantly reducing costs.
#3: A Storage Vendor Lock-In Backlash
In 2023, we saw questions arise about how dominant the public cloud services are in certain sectors. For instance, in October 2023 Ofcom referred the UK cloud market to the Competition and Market authority for further investigation. There is a concern that the costs of cloud storage have not fallen in line with the costs of hardware (per TB) and that charging egress fees to run compute on data from another service creates a form of vendor lock-in. It is predicted that the Ofcom action and ones similar to it will take a long period to play out, but in the meantime, the M&E industry is mostly keen on keeping costs low while maintaining flexibility with regards to which services they are working with (be that public cloud software service or an on-prem software service) both now and into the future. We all wish that life could be simpler when it comes to how to achieve our business goals, but when “simpler” comes with significant short- and long-term costs then alternative solutions that avoid vendor lock-in must be sought.
The best solutions have open architectures: open APIs, open self-describing metadata, non-proprietary data storage, open ID for security, and open policies to ensure data governance is preserved.
#4: Edge-Based and Object Storage Solutions Will Fuel Workflow Efficiency
In 2024, edge-based solutions and on-premises object-based storage solutions will see broader adoption in the M&E industry. Edge-based solutions facilitating large-scale data capture and content pre-processing, or local availability before sending content on to central solutions, are key to driving increased workflow efficiency.
Consider, for example, a soccer game that undergoes automated editing at the edge before being relayed back, or a pro hockey game with real-time statistical updates. The scope of edge goes beyond sports, offering news bureaus highly secure local storage that renders content searchable, with minimal management efforts and seamless transmission of content to the center of operations.
On-premises object-based solutions will no longer be perceived as cutting edge and will move into the mature phase of adoption. A fundamental illustration is object storage solutions that can generate media analysis and statistics, subsequently fueling AI operations and establishing connections, either directly or through linkage, with Kubernetes stacks.
#5: Edge and On-Premises Workflows Will Converge
Edge and on-premises storage solutions will converge in 2024, signaling a stark change from the diverse technology stacks that typically existed between media creatives and IT departments. This convergence is emphasized by dynamics such as the obsolescence of high-speed editing platforms and critical requirements for internal security firewalls. The incorporation of AI into storage solutions is indicative of a broader movement in the M&E sector toward utilizing cutting-edge technologies to boost efficiency and collaboration.
Conclusion
The impact of AI on storage solutions will undoubtedly be a significant trend this year. Harnessing advanced technologies, including AI, object-, and edge-based storage, media companies can elevate efficiency and collaboration, leading to better reuse and monetization of content.
