Kaltura whitepaper leveraging the cloud for enterprise video apps

Kaltura Whitepaper Leveraging the Cloud for Enterprise Video Applications

Copyright Š 2013 Kaltura, Inc. All rights reserved.

White Paper: Leveraging the Cloud for Enterprise Video Applications

Cloud Benefits and Challenges - Overview The Cloud Defined The definition of “Cloud” - and its differentiation from more traditional hosting services, has been widely debated.

The idea of offering “Software as a Service” (or SaaS) pre-dates the Cloud by over a decade when it was first provided by an ASP or Service Provider model. Media Asset Management solutions were provided to enterprises through a software licensing or a hosted model, in which the customer would front the cost of the hardware and pay for software based on the some variable formula without the need to worry about operational or maintenance costs.

The key differentiator today is more about economics than the nature of the service. “Cloud” services are typically multi-tenant environments which offer three types of services based on an elastic utility based pricing model: A. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – a fairly straight forward means to “rent” the shared use of servers, storage, and networking in a data center.

B. Platform as a Service (PaaS) – a way to package hardware, operating systems, storage and network capacity over the Internet or VPN. The service delivery model allows the customer to access virtualized servers and associated services for running existing applications or developing and testing new ones.

Cloud

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Software as a Service (SaaS)

C. Software as a Service (SaaS) - not as commonly provided by general IT Cloud services, is beginning to build momentum as an alternative means for software solution providers to offer their services. It differs from the traditional ASP approach in that it the infrastructure (physical hardware) is provided by the Cloud provider; it is typically multi-tenancy; and it has the ability to scale up or down on demand. The contracted invoicing is, for the most part, completely variable, allowing the customer to pays for software services based on pure usage, and enabling them to make a trade-off from a fixed capital investment to a pure operating expense model.

Because the multi-tenancy model allows much of the fixed costs to be amortized over a group of clients, the Cloud service provider is able to price these services at a considerably lower cost to the end user.

Benefits to Corporate Enterprise The power of the Cloud for the enterprise lies in three key areas – economics, accessibility and scalability.

From an economic perspective, the shift from a cap-ex to an op-ex model puts more financial control of cost (and lower risk) in the hands of the IT department, which are increasingly challenged with static or declining budgets. Rather than filling equipment rooms with racks of servers and spinning disks, this capital investment is replaced with a variable cost model in which the corporation can simply pay a monthly fee based on its utilization of services. In so doing, a large organization can then charge back those fees to the individual business units.

This also provides the company with the ability to easily share video content and applications with its employees across the organization and around the globe, through ubiquitous web interfaces with high reliability and scalability on demand. Finally, it allows smaller companies to take advantage of video solutions that may not have been affordable under traditional models.

As the corporate enterprise struggles to control costs in uncertain economic times, the use of online video for training, education, and marketing communications can provide new ways to improve employee communications, increase productivity and lower cost at the same time.

Copyright © 2013 Kaltura, Inc. All rights reserved.

White Paper: Leveraging the Cloud for Enterprise Video Applications

This has dramatically increased the use of video applications, content and content distribution solutions. Like movies and television, corporate video needs to be produced, managed, formatted, protected, and distributed - requiring a sometimes complex workflow process. In many instances, the Cloud can help simplify this process for organizations who do not have this in-house capability, or who wish to reduce their reliance on costly in-house infrastructure. This is particularly true as the distribution process has had to feed an accelerating number of digital channels to reach its audience, adding to workflow complexity.

Enterprise Cloud

Cost Savings

Public, Private & Hybrid Clouds

Accessibility Scalability

Advances in security notwithstanding, a large enterprise may be philosophically averse to migrating its media assets off premise. In such an instance, a private Cloud located on premise and under direct control of the CIO may prove to be a viable option. The private Cloud retains the utility pricing model, allowing the enterprise to charge back services to each business unit, department or division depending upon resource usage.

Yet the content and its associated metadata remain within the confines of the facility.

An extension of this model is called a hybrid Cloud in which applications can be added to a Cloud service – but under direct control of the CIO. In such an instance the Cloud could be used for periods of peak demand allowing the customer to “burst” into the Cloud for applications such as streaming, transcoding, or rendering when additional compute power is required. If the CEO, for example, wants to make an in-house address to all global employees, or an announcement to wall street - the Cloud can be leveraged for content preparation (such as transcoding) and live or on-demand delivery.

Security is enabled through the use of virtual private network (VPN) access to the external Cloud as well as virtual LAN (or VLAN) connectivity between facilities and the Cloud. These architectural topologies allow for a secure, private tunnel from the customer to the Cloud treating the external environment as an extension of the internal customer environment. In addition, various levels of encryption are available at the network, transport and data levels to further enhance security.

The Cloud’s Role in Media Management Content, Metadata and Media Assets A media asset is the combination of a media file and the rich metadata associated with it (along with any ancillary documents or images). Assets provide value and revenue generating ability to any organization. It’s the management of these assets through the eco-system and across disparate systems that creates challenges.

When considering the use of the Cloud, there are various ways in which a Cloud-based workflow could be architected and interfaced with an on premise operation. The CIO could opt to: 1. House media content in the Cloud (though perhaps not the primary copy) 2. House the metadata in the Cloud accessible through DAM interface such as Kaltura, retaining all copies of the essence files on premise or 3. House all the assets – i.e. both its media content (though probably not the primary copy) and associated metadata including proxies in the Cloud

Copyright © 2013 Kaltura, Inc. All rights reserved.

White Paper: Leveraging the Cloud for Enterprise Video Applications

Looking at media file storage, any well architected system will use a hierarchical storage management (HSM) approach. In this case the Cloud could be used for all levels from primary on through multiple tiers including DR (disaster recovery). A middleware archive management software solution might be added by the Cloud provider to provide seamless integration back into the on-premise IT organization.

Integration of Cloud-based applications into on-premise workflows or even between applications in the Cloud can be accomplished in a variety of ways. The utilization of a middleware layer in the Cloud – such as a Front Porch Digital’s DIVArchive solution, allows easy integration between the Cloud, the storage of essence files and digital asset management systems, as they have written to the API’s of several hundred popular solutions.

The use of an open platform such as Kaltura for media management provides easy access to publically available API’s. For integration of online applications, software such as Okta provide for SSO (Single Sign On) capability allowing the user to seamlessly migrate from one application to another.

The advantage of a Cloud-based storage of assets is not only in the added protection provided by a layer of external storage. All the generic Cloud advantages also apply: freeing up valuable IT real estate, reducing the need for periodic technology refreshes, assuring the ability to keep capital expenditures to a minimum, and the ability to control labor costs by externalizing operations.

In such a scenario, local decentralized DAM systems could be used to identify the location of the high resolution content and point to the Cloud where the assets reside. As with any asset sharing approach, appropriate rights would need to be maintained either within the DAM system or in a separate DRM database.

Digital Asset Management in the Cloud The inverse example would be housing the DAM application and associated metadata in the Cloud, allowing centralized access from any authorized users from various business units or departments. In such a scenario, each entity could contribute metadata and low-res content, as well as query the centralized database to locate media files, and determine the rights and location of the content.

Once identified, those essence files could exist either within the Cloud, allowing for the benefits discussed above, or on premise. A key advantage of maintaining the DAM application and metadata in a centralized, Cloud based repository, is in the collaborative environment that it facilitates. Any user with the appropriate permissions could access content and contribute their comments or suggestions to a particular project or topic.

Beyond collaboration, other advantages include: Enabling internally available video or graphics to be re-purposed, saving money on either external licensing or reshooting of footage Savings of time and money in having to sort through an obsolete database of content for footage or graphics that is known to exist, but where the central library is maintained on video-tape or in analog form.

Allowing an Enterprise to focus on its core business and allow content-rich applications and files to be managed outside the organization, potentially saving money, time and resources for the organization.

Opening up a host of applications accessible globally to employees, vendors, partners, shareholders, and others through a simple web browser, tablet or smart phone.

Copyright © 2013 Kaltura, Inc. All rights reserved.

White Paper: Leveraging the Cloud for Enterprise Video Applications

Enterprise Applications Cloud-based Digital Asset Management can be leveraged in a number of use cases within a corporate environment.

In each case, it is ultimately the choice of the organization as to how far to push the Cloud – for applications, for storage of metadata and proxies, the storage of media essence files (either primary or secondary copies), and/or digital distribution. Some of these applications include:

Learning & Training

Marketing & Corporate Communications

Video training courses for employees, vendors and/or partners Live webcasts with guest speakers and archival access for later viewing

CorporateTube

Controlled corporate channels for business information “User” (e.g. employ ee) channels for content sharing

Social Enterprise

Live corporate-wide or business unit level webcasts (internal) External webcasts for the press or financial analysts Live two way video customer services Online product catalogs

Employee video sharing and collaboration portal SharePoint video extension Creation of “virtual” communities within the enterprise

Almost all “live” or real time uses can be recorded, and made available for later “on demand” access via a web portal.

For non-real time video content, some corporations leverage an in-house production department or outsource video production. Or the content may be licensed. In all of these scenarios, the workflow starting with the finished content can be easily adapted to Cloud-based workflows, freeing the enterprise from the cost of re-packaging and distribution.

Ultimately the enterprise will need to decide which of these applications/solutions they want to host in the Cloud (public or private) based upon their resources and business and IT philosophy.

Cloud Content Ingest and Migration One of the key challenges in terms of Cloud-based media management has been easy content ingestion into Cloud-based applications. In theory, the most efficient means of Cloud utilization would be to ingest the highest resolution file needed, and then use this version to “down-convert” all other versions to lower bitrates. This still leaves the issue of migrating a 100mbs or higher version into the Cloud over a WAN or a VPN, and the issue of outbound (distribution) copies which could still chew up significant bandwidth and time. This latter process has become particularly difficult with the proliferation of file formats required to meet the demands of the exploding number of digital platforms. Increasingly employees, suppliers, shareholders and partners are relying on tablets and mobile devices for their information.

While some large corporations are moving to converged 10 gig fiber networks to move high bandwidth video, voice and data, many businesses cannot afford to upgrade their networks or the cost of high bandwidth pipes to the Cloud.

File acceleration solutions such as Aspera and Signiant have made this process much more efficient for most media organizations. In both cases, there is no compression of the files in their processes.

Copyright © 2013 Kaltura, Inc. All rights reserved.

White Paper: Leveraging the Cloud for Enterprise Video Applications

Transcoding & DRM While transcoding is still available through individual software packages, many asset management and workflow solutions such as Kaltura, have integrated features like transcoding into their offerings. This makes perfect sense, since transcoding is another key service used across the content value chain. In fact, its utilization is increasing exponentially as new digital formats increase. When you consider the number of devices that managers and employees use today, the disparity of resolutions, aspect ratios, and formats, one piece of media could result in thousands or permutations of digital files.

A compute intensive application such as transcoding is perfectly suited to the Cloud – whether public or private.

Cloud-based transcoding leverages storage and computational capacity on an as-needed basis.

Therefore, transcoding capacity can elastically adapt to fluctuating demands and easily handle unexpected spikes, eliminating the need to build infrastructure that always meets worst case scenarios.

For companies with in-house production capabilities, media workflows can be established to address relatively complex assembly requirements such as Edit Decision List (EDL) based conformation (i.e. conforming the video edits to the actual media itself), logo insertion, closed captioning as well as subtitle insertion.

Depending on an organization’s needs and capabilities, cloud transcoding can be leveraged to address applications from production to closed circuit broadcasting to multi-platform digital distribution.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is another ancillary function directly tied to media management.

DRM can be performed in a variety of methods – a) creating metadata to alert the internal user about the rights/restrictions on usage; b) using encryption technologies to “watermark” media assets and c) “fingerprinting” technologies that identify media assets based on characteristics of either the visual elements in certain frames.

Encryption technologies allow media to be played (nor not played) on consumer devices depending on the appearance of that encryption. While DRM is usually associated with media organizations, for some original programming produced by corporations, this may have some increasing application.

Digital (Multi-Platform) Distribution Today’s corporate enterprise needs to publish content to multiple platforms – requiring multiple workflows and formats, from closed circuit television to mobile and PC based environments. Soon, there may even be “corporate channels” available via OTT (over the top or Internet enabled television) distribution.

In effect, this means being able to swiftly and effectively manage and distribute produced corporate video content.

Considering this, an effective cloud model might support any number of workflow elements – from internal production to archival management to the publishing of content intended for digital distribution directly from the central media archive – in an automated fashion.

Creating an integrated environment where media production, archive and content distribution services co-exist is possible today, but in many cases requires integration between service providers. There are a number of service providers, such as Kaltura with its media management platform, and extensive tool sets and service-based API integration capabilities allowing for integration between cloud services as well as with existing client systems.

In brief, a cloud-based service provider’s workflow and content management systems should enable automated publishing destined for multi-platform distribution. This can be done by integrating with a client’s back office business systems to “push publish” content based on contractual or schedule based requirement, or enable a “pull” syndication model. In addition, this will also require effective integration between the cloud-based archive platform, content publishing, and content distribution network vendors. Recently, a few vendors with the broad solutions and resources necessary to provide the full end to end solution have emerged, but successful end-to-end implementation is highly dependent on specific needs and environment.

The payoff from this level of integration is clear – lower operational costs by minimizing level of effort and work duplication (through asset control and automated scalability). Couple this with greater revenue through swift and adaptive content monetization and you have a compelling model.

Copyright © 2013 Kaltura, Inc. All rights reserved.

White Paper: Leveraging the Cloud for Enterprise Video Applications

Conclusion Enterprises have a wide range of opportunities to leverage the Cloud for media management depending upon their goals, infrastructure investment, IT philosophy, risk tolerance and economic priorities. Those choices include utilization of the Cloud for compute intensive applications, storage of metadata and proxies, and/or archiving of high resolution essence files. In addition, they can choose to use a privately hosted Cloud through which services could be charged back to individual departments, an external public Cloud with economic benefits, or some hybrid combination of the two – all with a high degree of security, scalability and the ability to foster global collaboration. All of the economic, efficiency and collaborative advantages of the Cloud need to be weighed against the organization’s need for control, bullet proof security, and relative importance of capital investment vs. operating expense. The private and hybrid Cloud deployment options mean that businesses may be able to reap the benefits of both on-premise security and control along with the benefits that the Cloud model offers.

Managing this workflow is the media management software, a key choice for the enterprise, and as such careful consideration must be given to choosing the right solution. Making the right selection of software while leveraging the cloud can provide the organization with the cost effectiveness, scalability and reliability it will need to sustain future growth.

The use of digital media in business will continue to accelerate. The need to keep up with demand for more content, without temporal or spatial boundaries, will continue to put pressure on organizations to keep pace. Comprehensive open media management platforms such as Kaltura can meet that challenge today and in the future. As new technologies, platforms, and media formats develop, open platforms like Kaltura‘s can help enterprises keep pace with the rapidly accelerating changes to this dynamic landscape and meet the employees’ growing appetite for content.

Kaltura Business Headquarters 5 Union Square West, Suite 602, New York, NY. 10003, USA Tel.: +1 800 871 5224 | www.kaltura.com | http://corp.kaltura.com/video-solutions/education | sales@kaltura.com

Copyright © 2013 Kaltura, Inc. All rights reserved.

White Paper: Leveraging the Cloud for Enterprise Video Applications