Cloud native, software defined, the metaverse; the media technology sector is awash with buzz phrases. And, as with all popular terms which are used too liberally (and more often than not incorrectly,) the more you hear them, the less they mean. As Ms. Thunberg might say blah blah blah'. While the actual definitions of these words and phrases may often be misinterpreted, they have very clearly defined industry connotations, categorising them as either good or bad: proprietary - bad, (boo, shake head) open standard - good, (nod positively). But in the real-world - even this polarised world - sorting the good from the bad is just not that simple.
One phrase which I believe to be particularly misleading (not necessarily in terms of what it means, but whether it is an entirely good thing) is cloud native'. The statement the platform is cloud native is universally met with nodding approval by a conference panel, but is that orthodoxy, correct?
Microsoft define cloud native as: Cloud-native architecture and technologies are an approach to designing, constructing, and operating workloads that are built in the cloud and take full advantage of the cloud computing model.
By stating that a platform is cloud native doesn't in itself satisfy some fundamental nuances of the cloud. Does it run in any cloud for example? Is there a dependency on a function or service provided by a given cloud service provider? Such a platform may genuinely be described as cloud native (good) but also vendor dependant (bad).
Many, if not most, aspects of production and consumer content supply are moving inexorably to the cloud, (for many good reasons) and so vendors are increasingly keen to cast themselves as all cloud' (the future) and not old on-prem' (the past). Equally, industry commentators talk about cloud and ground in the context of a one-way migration, upward. But there are many systems and functions that are still on-prem - and which will remain that way in perpetuity, or at least for a good number of years. Cloud native can become a problem, or at least limiting factor, in cases where it actually means cloud-dependant or where an overall system has on the ground, on-prem' systems or resources which need to be managed and controlled.
These ground capabilities are not always a transitory function or a necessary evil' - often they are an intrinsic part of the solution architecture based on the business need. Equally, many media businesses have invested significantly in on-prem' infrastructure in recent years and this investment may still be being amortised or, more likely, the systems are still serving a useful and reliable function. In these cases, the clear business requirement is to integrate these systems through API-based connectors, not migrate away from them and thereby create the functional data gaps the industry has spent the last 25-years closing. Implementing a cloud native (good) approach in this instance risks creating technology silos which reduces workplace productivity (bad).
In the same way as the most modern studios contain a mixture of IP and SDI - based on which technology is appropriate to meet the business requirement so the modern production and content supply chain will contain a mixture of cloud and ground systems and services. Media operations management systems should not be cloud OR ground as even 15-years since S3 and EC2 first emerged, the cloud alone is simply not enough. Most of our BLAM deployments are (cloud-ground) hybrid systems - whether by initial design or through evolution and in some cases the on-prem function is significant.
The shift may rightly be to the cloud, but hybrid solutions are essential for integrated operations in most current operations. There's no denying that cloud native has a lovely ring to it, but the reality of now is undeniably hybrid.
The CORE BLAM architecture compromises one or more of two entirely stateless services: the application programming interface (API) and the workflow runner (WFR). Each are (Docker) containerised and infrastructure agnostic. They run as efficiently in an on-prem VM as they do in the cloud. This enables hybrid systems to be built which seamlessly connect traditional broadcast systems to modern cloud-based services and business systems.
By Blue Lucy - February 6, 2022
Share this Twitter Operators should ensure that cloud native' doesn't mean cloud dependant when selecting management tools.
&source=BlueLucyMedia rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blank class=social-share-btn btn-linkedin mr-15 mb-15>Linkedin
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
Cloud native, software defined, the metaverse; the media technology sector is awash with buzz phrases. And, as with all popular terms which are used too liberally (and more often than not incorrectly,) the more you hear them, the less they mean. As Ms. Thunberg might say blah blah blah'. While the actual definitions of these words and phrases may often be misinterpreted, they have very clearly defined industry connotations, categorising them as either good or bad: proprietary - bad, (boo, shake head) open standard - good, (nod positively). But in the real-world - even this polarised world - sorting the good from the bad is just not that simple.
