Cloud computing has become routine, as anyone accessing word documents from work through their smart phone can attest. However, cloud computing has begun to impact every aspect of audiovisual production and distribution. What is cloud computing for video processing and delivery, and what are the points for and against it?
What is Cloud Computing for Video Processing and Delivery?
Cloud computing for video delivery is commonplace. Someone creates the video and uploads it to an account on the cloud. The video is made available to their paying subscribers or the general public. The cloud host may have a single copy of the file viewable to whoever searches for it. Or they may have dozens of copies of the file distributed across data farms around the world to minimize delays and meet high demand.
Cloud computing for video processing generally refers to someone accessing video editing and processing software through an account. You use software maintained by the service, and you can choose to save your files there. Publication moves the video from your working files location to the cloud service’s public facing servers.
What Are the Benefits of Cloud Computing for Video Processing and Delivery?
The benefits of cloud computing for video processing and delivery are the same as many other cloud computing applications, though there are addition benefits for video hosting and streaming media services. Cloud computing can scale up almost immediately, and it can be scaled down almost as quickly. This is true in terms of memory and bandwidth. And you’ll only pay for what you need. For large institutions, shifting to the cloud lowers the cost to store and distribute each video, as platforms like YouTube can attest.
Depending on the cloud computing service you use, you can access a wide range of software applications at a relatively low cost per employee. Allow your video editor or animators to access the same high-end software as your rivals. Furthermore, when they can store the video to the cloud, the files are accessible to other team members no matter where they’re located. A side benefit of working in the cloud is that the files are backed up along with everything else. You don’t risk losing your newest commercial or livestream because someone’s laptop was stolen or corrupted by malware.
Cloud computing is starting to include the entire video delivery chain from content management to online ads. Moving to the cloud so that your files are seamlessly integrated with these other tools is invaluable.
What Are the Risks and Downsides of Cloud Computing for Video Processing and Delivery?
As several free speech social media startups learned, one of the risks of cloud computing on a Big Tech cloud is that your service may be cut off if the companies that control the servers decide they don’t like you. Your video distribution could be limited because they don’t like the topics you cover or even because the keywords associated with the video are considered problematic.
You can eliminate this risk by choosing a cloud that is on-premises. Or you can balance the cost-savings with greater control by choosing a hybrid model for your video and cloud computing. You could then control what data is stored on the cloud and what is saved inside your own network. That can protect critical data from hackers while giving you access to enterprise-level software applications.
Whatever model you choose, you’re going to have to balance cost with intangibles like disaster recovery.
