By Rich Andes and Blake Parrish, VPs, Product Management, Telestream
Cloud technology continues to reshape how businesses operate, presenting both opportunities and challenges. For the Media & Entertainment (M&E) sector, cloud computing offers an enticing solution to the industry’s scaling, collaboration, and efficiency needs. Yet, the path to cloud adoption is rarely smooth. Unlike some industries, M&E faces technical, operational, and economic challenges that make the transition to the cloud uniquely complex.
Cloud-First vs. Cloud-Smart
So what is the difference between a “cloud-first” and a “cloud-smart” approach? Cloud-first is the traditional approach embraced by IT departments—to move everything to the cloud, focusing fully on cloud-native services. By contrast, “cloud-smart” takes a more strategic view. Only essential workflows migrate to the cloud, leaving other tasks on-premises or in a hybrid setup where it makes better operational or financial senses.
Cloud-first works well for digital-native media companies, streaming platforms, and organizations that prioritize agility, AI-powered automation, and rapid global content distribution.
Cloud-smart is ideal for large media enterprises, broadcasters, and production companies that require a mix of high-performance on-prem workflows (e.g., post-production, rendering) and cloud scalability for distribution, AI analytics, or disaster recovery.
The key is for each organization and even each department to consider the pros and cons of each approach to find the right balance for leveraging cloud innovations where they provide the most value.
Cloud-first is definitely feasible for many industries or if you’re starting from scratch. However, for M&E companies, aggressive, unchecked cloud adoption that prioritizes immediacy and full migration can often lead to unexpected complexity. Companies can end up with a much more difficult-to-manage infrastructure, sometimes reliant on a patchwork of microservices that may or may not be reliable long-term.
Big Files, Bigger Challenges: M&E’s Unique Cloud Conundrum
M&E companies don’t just manage data—they handle a host of high-resolution videos, complex visual effects, and multi-layered assets. Combine this with the need for real-time performance, strict security, and unpredictable workflows, and you quickly realize that a straightforward “cloud-first” approach is often not ideal. Here’s a look at the core challenges:
- Massive file sizes: High-resolution media requires significant bandwidth, which can slow workflows and increase costs for infrastructure upgrades.
- Low latency demands: Instant file access is critical for creative workflows, making latency a common concern when moving to the cloud.
- Legacy systems: Existing on-premise investments can make a complete migration complex and expensive.
- Security and compliance: Unreleased content needs stringent security measures. Cloud migration can elevate risks, pushing many to adopt private clouds or mixed environments. Plus licensing agreements and mandates like GDPR often require hosting sensitive data locally.
- Cost management: While a pay-as-you-go model accommodates fluctuating workloads, unmonitored usage during peak times can lead to spiraling costs.
- Multi-cloud complexity: Specialized tools from providers like AWS and Google Cloud can lead to integration challenges.
- Global collaboration: Teams benefit from remote access capabilities, but smooth collaboration, compliance, and performance across regions remains a challenge.
- AI workflows: AI-driven innovations like automated editing and media enrichment are crucial for growth, but M&E’s unique challenge is to protect media and not expose it to internet/cloud-based services.
- Shifting business models: With evolving consumer behavior and streaming- driven competition, M&E companies are cautious about adopting cloud solutions without proven ROI.
M&E organizations can’t just ‘lift and shift’ to the cloud. Navigating these obstacles requires a tailored strategy that combines cloud advantages with on-premise assets. For many, hybrid and multi-cloud workflows are emerging as the most effective path forward.
Clouded Judgment: Misconceptions around Adoption
The prevailing idea in the industry is that transitioning to the cloud equates to simplification. However, many companies have learned the hard way that it isn’t always the case. A major operational pain point is the frustration about the sheer number of vendors in the cloud space that companies have to integrate. Clients are managing multiple siloed products themselves—a process that’s resource-heavy and inefficient.
Fragmentation in cloud environments also poses a greater challenge compared to on-premises systems. This complexity is primarily due to the fact that many M&E organizations lack the specialized expertise and resources required to effectively integrate third-party solutions. Furthermore, the distributed and intangible nature of cloud technology introduces additional layers of complexity, making seamless integration and management considerably more demanding.
This fragmentation makes it clear that while “cloud-first” may be ideal for some niche use cases, a “cloud-smart” approach is often better suited for most large, complex M&E organizations.
Why Hybrid Cloud is the Star of the Show for M&E
The hybrid approach provides the best of both worlds. M&E companies can benefit from cloud scalability while retaining critical processes on-premises for better control, cost efficiency, and responsiveness.
For example, quick-turn productions—such as daily TV shows or live event broadcasting—are still best handled on-premises. When you’re working with tight deadlines, like recording a nightly show at 7 PM that needs to air or stream by 10 PM, you simply don’t have time to upload and process everything in the cloud. Hybrid setups allow for local content management before leveraging the cloud for distribution.
Financial considerations are also driving many organizations toward hybrid models. For organizations with significant investments in on-prem infrastructure, running the cloud becomes an unnecessary expense. Since they can already fully utilize their existing hardware, hybrid solutions help bridge that gap.
Decoupled Architecture and Simplification
One critical trend is the shift toward decoupled architecture in cloud environments. While decoupling enables efficiency by splitting workloads into smaller services, it can also lead to higher complexity for M&E companies.
This is where simplification becomes key as M&E companies are weary of dealing with so many vendors in the cloud. They want something that’s seamless and works out of the box. To this end, organizations need to focus on partnerships with providers who offer first-party integrations and truly unified systems. These integrated solutions eliminate the need for extensive manual configuration, streamlining workflows and reducing operational headaches.
The Value of Strategic Planning
Adopting a cloud-smart approach demands a proactive, long-term business strategy. So what are the keys to assessing a cloud adoption roadmap?
- Align with company goals: Organizations must evaluate their future facility plans, infrastructure investments, and business continuity needs. Are you planning on maintaining private data centers? Or moving to fully remote or cloud-only operations?
- Budget for predictability: Cloud-native services may work well for on-demand projects, but unpredictable costs—from additional transcoding or storage usage—can derail financial planning.
- Data security as a priority: When exploring cloud adoption or emerging tech like Agentic AI, content security needs to be at the forefront. Many enterprises have stringent rules prohibiting external access to files and metadata. Organizations must carefully vet providers to ensure maximum data protection.
A Path Forward for the M&E Industry
For decision-makers in the M&E sector, the transition to the cloud is no longer an “if” but a “how.” But the move toward the cloud should not be treated as an all-or-nothing venture. It’s a strategic decision that depends on organizational needs, workflow demands, and long-term scalability goals. Companies eager to succeed in this space must focus on lessons learned from early adopters, building solutions that emphasize flexibility, cost-efficiency, and usability.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but by adopting a cloud-smart mindset, M&E companies can avoid the pitfalls of over-adoption while ensuring they remain agile and competitive in an evolving digital landscape. The industry is moving towards workflows that are agnostic and can run in any environment. That’s where the real opportunity lies.
If you’re ready to take the first step toward building smarter workflows, Telestream can help. Our team of cloud and hybrid experts have years of experience guiding organizations through complex implementations. Contact us for a no obligation consultation or visit us at one of our global events.