feature digital asset protection
While we would all agree that there’s still plenty of tape out there, the digital revolution is exerting a profound influence on today’s broadcasting, media, and entertainment companies. For many media organisations, ‘going digital’ means grappling with the transition from analogue, linear content distribution to an exciting new world of electronic sell-through opportunities, video on demand, and multi-platform delivery. Rick Clarkson, senior director, product management for Signiant, reports.
Protecting media assets in the digital age
o truly exploit these new opportunities, media companies depend on global collaboration and partnerships that enable the seamless exchange of content outside the bounds of the enterprise - therefore, their requirements for secure and effective content exchange have grown more complex and
T
sophisticated. At the base level, these companies require a mechanism that can move unstructured video assets around and through processing workflows, and do it faster than their corporate networks would typically allow. But speed isn’t enough - media companies also need a file transfer solution that can be centrally managed and provide a secure exchange of assets with business partners such as post production companies. Enter content supply chain management (CSCM), a
Rick Clarkson, senior director, product
management at Signiant.
Figure 1: Secure content transfer via software agents.
comprehensive logistics-based file system that handles all the complexities of transporting multiple files to multiple destinations and out to the many different outlets where people consume content - rapidly and reliably, and with enterprise-class security. An effective CSCM solution is based on B2B content peering for a truly interconnected supply chain that crosses the boundaries of organisations and corporations, enabling content to flow across these boundaries seamlessly without interruptions while maintaining enterprise security policies. So what exactly do we mean by enterprise-class security in the context of a business-to-business exchange of digital assets? What are the risks to media assets, and what are the most effective ways to protect them? In this article, we’ll attempt to answer those questions and describe how B2B content peering offers the state of the
art in asset protection. A complex web of trading partners
A trifecta of trends - the move to file- based operations, the migration to new and enhanced formats, and the quickening pace to market demanded by new distribution windows - is profoundly impacting media companies and their ability to manage digital assets. Adding to the challenge is the growing complexity of today’s business- to-business relationships. A global broadcaster, for instance, might operate as a hub with many international locations and maintain B2B relationships with many different service providers such as post- production companies and playout centres. Conversely, a large post house might be connected to an additional 10 or 15 large, multinational broadcasters. Taking all these connections into account, the landscape begins to look less like a hub and more like a spider web.
These factors make sharing assets with business partners across wide geographical areas a difficult proposition, with numerous network, security and process issues coming into play. At a minimum, businesses need to notify each other of incoming files, have visibility into what is delivered, and have control over all incoming and outgoing files including setting priority and managing bandwidth.
Currently, companies’ media transfer requirements are being addressed (to
32 l ibe l january/february 2011 l
www.ibeweb.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44