2019 State of Video+Cloud for Media & Entertainment VIP Luncheon: AWS Elemental

The cloud is transforming everything, and the Media & Entertainment industry in Los Angeles is feeling this shift acutely. Being on top of the latest innovations—and knowing what’s coming over the horizon—is mission critical for executives in the video space.

Metal Toad’s Annual State of Video+Cloud for M&E VIP Luncheon

Last October, we brought top executives from companies like Sony, Disney, Warner Brothers, and FOX together in Los Angeles with AWS Elemental experts to dive into how the right cloud solution can optimize—and radically improve—both live and on-demand video content delivery and distribution.

Highlight Reel

A meeting of M&E minds

It’s rare for big-studio executives to have a chance to sit down together and connect about the challenges and opportunities facing the M&E industry. So Metal Toad invited 32 leaders who share common pain points like:

• Normalizing data from an ever-growing firehose of footage
• Tracking, managing, and monetizing archival material 
• Streamlining workflow for broadcast-quality livestreams
• Aligning technologies for content capture, storage, and distribution
• Getting ahead of—and leveraging—disruptive technologies 

Key takeaways

While attendees dined at the Beverly Hills Spring Place, industry leader Shaun Lile (Senior Solutions Architect at AWS Elemental) took them through an eye-opening program on what works, what doesn’t, and what’s coming next in cloud solutions for video.

Here are a few highlights VIP attendees took away from the presentation:

• AWS Elemental is quickly becoming the reliable backbone for live video streaming
• By combining key AWS services, M&E companies can create a complete solution for processing and delivery of video content in the cloud
• Cloud solutions can eliminate the need for the massive resources—broadcast vans, satellite uplinks, large staffs—to create polished live video experiences
• As changes in viewers’ habits rapidly accelerate, cloud solutions allow M&E organizations to deliver more effective personalization faster
• OTT is growing at nearly ten times the pace of paid TV—optimizing speed, reliability, and cost-effectiveness is crucial in riding this trend
• Media analytics are key to delivering the rich viewer experiences that capture eyeballs and drive revenue
• Cohesive cloud solutions enable enterprises to standardize content data points across the organization—and, eventually, can enable normalization industry-wide
• Disruption is coming for distribution in large part because cloud providers can now offer an exponentially larger level of responsiveness and cost-effectiveness 

What’s next for M&E innovators

One of our favorite quotes from Shaun’s presentation struck a chord for the entire room:

“Content is no longer king—the viewer is king.” 

In a world where the viewer has dethroned content, success for M&E organizations relies on getting faster, more nimble, and more personal. That’s where the cloud comes in.

Metal Toad is continuing to bridge the gap for M&E enterprises with AWS expertise and custom solutions. Our second Annual State of Video+Cloud for M&E VIP Luncheon, in October 2020, will dive into the next wave of disruption, innovation, and opportunity.

Metal Toad is a Los Angeles-based AWS Consultancy ready to help your business make it's next move to the Cloud.