Mohammad Wasim, Senior Manager, Systems, Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited
The media and entertainment industry is betting big on technology for providing customised offerings to users. Moreover, a growing shift towards digital media is driving the adoption of cloud, social media, mobility solutions, analytics and big data solutions. Media and entertainment industry players discuss their IT strategies, and technology trends…
What are the technology trends being witnessed by the media and entertainment space?
The key trends witnessed by the industry include the growing adoption of mobility services due to the explosion of connected devices, the increasing use of managed services to focus on core business areas and a transformation from physical to digital infrastructure. Further, with the increasing uptake of smartphones and tablets, gaming and online content consumption is emerging as a promising source of revenue for the media and entertainment industry.
What are some of the IT/telecom solutions being deployed by your company? How have these helped enhance business operations?
From the telecommunications point of view, the company will bring about some changes in the existing plans and implement new corporate plans. This will provide cost-effective solutions to the company with regard to its telecommunication requirements. As far as IT infrastructure is concerned, the company needs to make some changes related to the server, workstation and network equipment. Considering the heavy data requirements, the existing servers are not enough. Therefore, new servers are needed immediately to provide better storage capacity.
What is the level of technology adoption in respect of the cloud, internet of things (IoT) and big data analytics in this industry?
Of all the technology trends mentioned above, cloud computing is one of the most interesting and, in my opinion, the least controversial. While there are far greater reasons to adopt cloud technology than just cost reduction, performance issues and lack of visibility into the stack remain major issues for large enterprises. Yet, among the large enterprises we deal with, cloud computing is being adopted steadily for non-mission-critical applications. Moreover, some enterprises are now beginning to downsize their data centres. Business agility, vendor choice and access to next-generation architectures are some of the benefits of deploying the latest cloud computing technologies, which are often radically advanced as compared to the traditional enterprise solutions.
The world of digital advertising is evolving at a breakneck pace. By utilising Hadoop to capture and analyse clickstream, transaction, video and social media data, digital advertisers are able to spot trends and patterns, unearth new relationships, and optimise their ad campaigns by adjusting campaign tactics in real time. The entertainment industry is using Hadoop in a number of ways, with the connected consumer at its core. It is being used to increase revenues, understand real-time customer sentiment, increase marketing effectiveness, and boost ratings and viewership. For instance, video game development studios are turning to analysing massive data streams in order to enhance game player engagement and increase player retention, while music streaming services are providing completely personalised recommendations for their customers.
“Business agility, vendor choice and access to nextgeneration architectures are some of the benefits of cloud.” Mohammad Wasim
What are the key challenges in the deployment and management of telecom solutions?
Telecommunications faces a number of challenges on a daily basis. However, service providers and agents must overcome these issues to offer the best-in-class customer experience available. A major challenge facing the industry today is ensuring that telecom companies are leveraging the correct infrastructure for optimum functionality. As more customers utilise different devices for voice communication and internet access, service providers need to address the growing data needs. These companies must analyse the existing infrastructure and make the necessary changes to expand their capabilities and meet the rising data demand. Organisations need to effectively manage costs and have the ability to react to the quickly shifting market. Many of the expenses incurred by telecom are IT related, as operations are dependent on reliable technology.
What IT initiatives are you planning to take over the next few years?
The company has some plans with regard to its communication infrastructure over the next two years. We will implement the Cisco Nexus and Cisco Layer 3 switches throughout the country for remote support. We will increase the bandwidth of our existing internet service provider lines for better data communication.
