In Broadcast - January 2021 - 36

36

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 11 - Issue 1 | January 2021

InTech

Re-wiring The Future
Contributing Editor Adrian Pennington
examines some of the latest developments
in the broad church of systems
integrators...

G

iven the move to cloud, is it time
to redefine what we mean by
systems integration or does the job
become something different when no
longer working exclusively with cables
and bits of physical kit?
" There are connotations that systems
integrators pull SDI cables across
the floor, " Tim Burton, MD, 7fivefive.
" We take systems and integrate
them together to create pipelines
and workflows for broadcast and
media companies. This could be cloud
systems, it could be software, and it
could equally be hardware. The basics
haven't changed. "
Modern, IT-based media systems
form the basis for entire value chains
or represent the business model
outright. " This is the reason why an
SI is expected to deliver, above all,
expertise in networking high-tech
products and IT systems as well as in
developing technology platforms like

Ulrich Voigt,
Head of Design, Qvest Media

Techtriq's cloud management and
application orchestration platform
qibb, " according to Ulrich Voigt, Head
of Design at Qvest Media. Techtriq
and Qvest Media are both part of Qvest
Group which recently acquired OnPrem
Solution Partners, a US-based M&E
supply chain consultancy.
Voigt continues: " Solutions for
content production and distribution,
media
networks
and
device
management, IT layer systems,
multi-channel
contribution
and
distribution,
media
management
and backend systems are not just
ends in themselves. Each is part of
an integrated system environment,
which is why the optimum combination
of this type of system makes such a
significant contribution to business
success. "
The move from conventional
broadcast into IT engineering systems
means the complexity has risen.
Suddenly SI's need dual skillsets. " That
knowledge also needs to be dovetailed
together, " says Burton. " You've got
to understand the requirements
that broadcast has, coupled with the
container and limitations that the IT
systems provide and you've got to
work with those two things to deliver
the solutions together. "
Among 7fivefive's recent jobs was a
remote edit solution for A+E Networks
UK to enable its team to successfully
work from home during the pandemic.
7fivefive deployed sixteen GPU
accelerated virtual machines so that

Within eight days, 7fivefive quadrupled
capacity for A+E Networks UK team
members to work from home

A+E Networks UK could access highpowered machines concurrently while
working remotely. Subsequently¬¬,
non-GPU accelerated virtual machines
were deployed, which enabled nonedit users to access internal systems
and assets from home.
" Even though we are not necessarily
building out as many rack rooms and
handling cables, there is the same
amount of design work and project
work and delivery considerations, "
says Burton. " The difference is that it
is done remotely from a keyboard and
often scripted versus people with tools
and flight cases cutting cables and
screwing things in. "
The take up of cloud computing and
Infrastructure as a Service have grown
rapidly in a bid to control business/
premises costs and increase flexibility
and accelerated during 2020 as a
result of the pandemic. Some parts of
the production process have embraced
cloud more than others.
" For a company moving a large
volume of linear channels into a cloud
environment, you can't tell me there
is not the same amount, of build,
automation, testing, documentation,
and disaster recovery planning as
always, " Burton explains. " You are
still delivering the same piece, but you

Tim Burton,
Managing Director, 7fivefive

have the complexity of delivering it in
the cloud. SIs need to help customers
do their cloud economics, to help them
understand how much it will cost. The
days of sending someone a bill for
X number of boxes, cables etc have
gone. With cloud economics, there is a
need to understand how many hours of
content will be hosted, the transcode
cost, the storage costs and so on.
There is more work than there has
ever been in that space.
" Infrastructure is now longer
hand-crafted, it is scripted and selfdeploying, " Burton argues. " One
of the key drivers for this shift is
product life. In a traditional setup,
hardware would be implemented
and stay in a rack for at least five
years. In a cloud environment, where
infrastructure could be spun up for one
transcode, you cannot handcraft that
infrastructure. SI's need to stay

dB Broadcast were involved in the installations at BBC Wales and Bloomberg TV
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://7fivefive.com/ https://7fivefive.com/ https://dbbroadcast.co.uk/our-work-2/ https://dbbroadcast.co.uk/our-work-2/ https://dbbroadcast.co.uk/our-work-2/
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