From Hype to Reality: Digital Media Technologies in the Cloud
In the rapidly evolving world of digital media technology, cloud has become a hotly debated topic – especially when it comes to the use of public cloud offerings. Creative and media professionals require a cloud solution that will not only help them create, manage, and collaborate on large media content, but one that will do it securely and from anywhere in the world. But have cloud solutions actually caught up with industry demand, or is it all talk?
Up until recently, media technologists viewed cloud technology as overhyped, non-secure, and unprepared for large media files – and perhaps, rightfully so. IT cloud vendors were over selling cloud solutions without actually delivering on most of the promises. The good news is, media technologists are quickly overcoming the earlier shortfalls by re-thinking how to better architect digital media SaaS (Software as a Service) while taking advantage of maturing public cloud IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) offerings. So the question is; have we moved the cloud from “hype” to “reality?”
With cloud applied to digital media technologies, we have historically been in a state of reactionary evolution. When you explore the stages of the “Digital Media Cloud Hype Cycle” – from ‘technology triggers’ to ‘peak of inflated expectations,’ ‘trough of disillusionment,’ ‘slope of enlightenment’ and ‘plateau of productivity’ – you get a backdrop of this evolution based on perspectives that have and will continue to adapt over time as media demands. The ‘technology trigger’ stage, for example, was the first attempt to address the explosion of large media files being generated by the creative community. This was followed by almost instantaneous expectations sparked by overpromises of eager cloud vendors that the cloud could “do it all.” Today, in what we call the ‘plateau of productivity,’ forward-thinking technologists are able to leverage the growing acceptance of SaaS and IaaS optimized for media – allowing media professionals to move toward true cloud-based workflow optimization.
The Hype Cycle will continue to be influenced by the ingenuity of media technologists and the creative professionals who accept and influence them. Cloud technology will further mature to provide media and entertainment professionals with the capabilities to overcome fundamental digital media technology road blocks – specifically large scale media content processing, storage, and access. Sony Media Cloud Services’ Ci℠, a truly creative and adaptable SaaS offering, has taken media cloud technologies from hype to a real value-add media service. So, reality, here we are, and that’s no hype.
Open the infographic below for a deeper (and more colorful) dive into the Digital Media Cloud Hype Cycle.