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March 2014 www.tvbeurope.com


“Project timescales are becoming shorter than ever as the industry finds the need to react quickly to changing market demand” — Charlie McCaw ATG Broadcast


Bringing together the integrators


SYSTEMS INTEGRATORS (SIs) have seen their roles increase in recent years, and today their functions continue to expand. But what challenges will they face as 2014 progresses, what areas of technology need further consideration, and does the role of an SI vary across Europe? These and other issues


are discussed by (in alphabetical order) Kalvis Baumanis, board member of Hannu Pro; Steve Burgess CTO of Megahertz; John Cleaver, director of Dega Broadcast Systems; Gabriel Dusil, chief marketing and corporate strategy officer at Visual Unity; Charlie McCaw, head of solutions at ATG Broadcast; Kevin Moore, managing director, Eurotek Ireland; Werner Osselaer, sales and marketing manager, Studiotech; David Phillips, managing director, TSL Systems; Malcolm Robinson, director media and broadcast solutions at Broadcast Networks; Daniel Url, sales director at Wellen+Nöthen; Sebastian Wainberg, general product manager, Promovisa Spain


Apart from budgets, what are the biggest challenges you face as a SI in 2014?


Baumanis: Amount of work to be done! We have many projects for 2014. In general, they are smaller than before — but require more from us. Burgess: In 2014, one of the


hurdles we face is overcoming the length of time it takes from proposal to exchange of contracts. More and more we are finding that we have to adjust our planning and forecasting to accommodate a prolonged tendering process. Cleaver: I suspect it will be a familiar challenge of managing resources. The recent tough climate has meant decisions are left late and timescales shortened, so getting a clear vision of what is ahead is impossible. We have to ensure that our workforce is flexible and dynamic so that we are in a position to provide a service to all our customers when they need us. McCaw: Project timescales are becoming shorter than ever as the industry finds the need to react quickly to changing market demand. We are fully accustomed to those pressures, including the


Kalvis Baumanis, Hannu Pro


ability to work alongside active network staff without disrupting their routine operations. Moore: I think one of the challenges for 2014 is the overall level of activity. I don’t think there will be too many significant projects going ahead in our territory this year, so we may need to look to alternative sectors where we can apply our skills. Osselaer:We hope for an economic upswing in 2014, after the down slope in 2013 where the market was impacted by continued uncertainty. In Africa, we see an increasing demand for digital transmission, while European broadcasters, driven by demand for more HD content, are focusing on multiscreen and multiformat playout systems. As an integrator we strive, in partnership with main suppliers, to focus on a long-term technological strategy by delivering complete end-to- end solutions. Phillips: The continued rapid change of technology has meant


that customers are more wary of making investments in technology at any given time in case something ‘better’ appears soon afterwards. The evolving technology also requires SIs to maintain a high level of investment in training and knowledge enhancement. Many of the large manufacturers now provide turn-key solutions which may offer price advantages, but can present limitations with regards to choice, quality and interoperability between third- party systems. This is where independent Systems Integrators can strongly assist. Robinson: Understanding the


varied and ever-changing challenges of our customers and being part of the solution! Our customers face new challenges every day due to changing consumer trends, the consumption of media, competition, fluctuations in revenue and shrinking budgets. They need trusted partners to fight the battle with them. Url: From the technical standpoint, one of our biggest challenges at the moment is being


Systems Integrators TVBEurope 27


Forum


Philip Stevens moderates a second Forum this month in which Systems Integrators discuss topics that affect their business


prepared for changing tasks in the areas of broadcast and IT. In organisational terms, we must therefore remain flexible, with our specialists in systems integration, consulting and technology support services taking training courses more frequently. Wainberg: In Spain the major challenge, apart from the obvious crisis that our industry is facing, is the re-distribution of frequencies as a result of ‘digital dividend’ — the government policy to allow ‘space’ for the 4G telecommunication frequencies — and the impact that this will have on the existing broadcasters.


Do you see yourself as an educator of new technologies, as well as being a supplier?


Baumanis: More and more the SI task is taking the role of educator/adviser/consultant for fast-changing technologies. Customers want one single contact for all their needs, who also guarantees that all different parts of the system will work together. Cleaver: I don’t think we see


Steve Burgess, Megahertz


that as our prime task. Our customers generally know their


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