M&E Focus Group Technology Survey Results and Analysis: AI/ML, Cloud, Data, and OTT Adoption by Product and Service Category — July 2022 Snapshot

M&E Focus Group Technology Survey Results and Analysis: AI/ML, Cloud, Data, and OTT Adoption by Product and Service Category — July 2022 Snapshot

This IDC Perspective highlights technology adoption trends and investments being made across 26 different product and service categories associated with cloud-based production, distribution, and monetization. A major observation of the results identified that "cloud" has had a dramatic effect on all categories most likely due to the pandemic, yet artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) and data have yet to be applied at a similar rate to enhance products and services to the level experienced with cloud. Think of it as everyone focused getting to the cloud during the pandemic but time to market didn't allow for the others. Now, AI/ML and data will be used to make products and services more intelligent and efficient and provide for productivity gains, not to mention services we may not see yet.What's interesting about the results is the focus on cloud "production," especially in integrated playout, media asset management, and live production. It's great to see that the industry is advancing into cloud-based production, and that it is properly aligned with cloud-based OTT distribution. The only concern from my vantage point is that advertising monetization is not yet a focus, especially considering the high demand for free ad supported television (FAST). I suspect this area will change dramatically in focus before the end of the year as major streamers like Netflix embrace an ad-supported tier and more FAST channels are deployed."Cloud adoption is front and center in the focus group survey results, and a lot of the migration from facility-based applications to cloud is now production oriented and not just storage and OTT distribution. It is no longer about 'should' customers adopt cloud services but rather when and how quickly can they deploy solutions to drive more business. Moving forward, technologies including artificial intelligence/machine learning, data analytics, security, and open standards–based application programming interfaces will drive industry growth for the foreseeable future." — Alex Holtz, research director, IDC Media and Entertainment Digital Strategies

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