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ConvergingMediaPlatformsto MaximizeContentValue
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ExecutiveOverview
The media industry has reached a critical crossroad when it comes to generating revenue through traditional content channels compared to online channels. The percentage of advertising revenue generated by traditional channels such as television, radio, magazines and newspapers, is decreasing compared to revenue generatedbytheircompaniononlinesites.Nondigitaladvertisingstillrepresentsthe lion'sshare,butthegapiscontinuingtoclose. Thekeytoaddressingthischallenge,whichalsooffersatremendousopportunity,is to converge content production onto a unified platform. Deploying an enterprise content management system that allows content to be created once and then be distributedacrossmultiplechannels,bothtraditionalandonline,improvesproduction efficienciesandassuresconsistencyofcontentandbrandingacrossallchannels. Onlinechannelsthataresynchronizedwithtraditionalchannelspromptaudiencesto spend more time with the brand and thus lead to higher viewership and readership ratings. The repeating cycle can then open new advertising and revenuegeneration opportunitiesacrossallcontentchannels. Mediacompaniesmustalsofacetheultimaterealitythatembracingcontentplatform convergence is a necessity in order to survive. Those that do not converge their contentchannelsriskthelikelihoodofflatordwindlingrevenuestreams. With more people now consuming content on the Web and mobile devices more often, media companies that do not converge their platforms will become indistinguishablefromtheircompetitors. Thiswhitepapertakesalookatthechallengesinvolvedintryingtointegratecontent production platforms for both traditional and online channelsand why many media companiesfindthetaskdifficulttotakeon.Thewhitepaperalsopresentshowmedia companies can not only address the challenge but also take advantage of the opportunitythataconvergedmediacontentproductionplatformoffers.
TableofContents
TheChallenge:IntegratingContentProductionAcrossAll Channels
When creating an integrated publishing platform, media companies need to developasolutionthatprovidesaconsistentuserexperienceacrossallcontent channels.Thesolutionalsoneedstomanagecontentworkflowtoensuretimely updates,anditshouldhelpmaintaincontentandbrandingconsistencyamongall channels.Ifthesechallengesgounanswered,companiesfacethethreatoflosing theiraudienceormissingopportunitiestogainnewaudiences.
The challenge in addressing the threat and the opportunity that the Internet presents to the media industry is that most companies do not have tight integration among their content distribution channels. This creates two problems:First,userexperiencestendtobeinconsistentwhenaudiencesmove from one medium to the next. For example, they may read an article in a magazine and then visit the magazine website without experiencing the same brandinglookandfeel. Second, lack of integration causes extra manpower productionwork and inefficiencies. For example, newspapers and magazines have traditionally produced content for their print version first and then turned the content over the digital team, which manipulates and enhances the content for the Web or mobile channels. The more effective approach is to create the content once regardlessofaspecificchannelinanenterprisecontentmanagementsystemand thenpublishitacrossmultiplechannelsprint,theWeb,ormobiledevices. In moving towards an integrated enterprise content managementplatform, the challengethatmediacompaniesfaceisasmuchanorganizationalchallengeasit isatechnologychallenge.Mostmediacompanieshaveaseparategroupthatis responsible for digital products. Converging content production requires a new paradigm in the way content is produced. It requires major organizational and operational changes along with a new content production platform. Media companies should no longer tie their content to a specific channel but rather producethecontentregardlessofthechannel.Thisprovidesgreaterflexibilityin terms of leveraging the content for new distribution channels and revenue streams.
Although creating an integrated publishing platform represents a monumental challenge,itcanbesuccessfullyachievedwithproperinvestmentandexecutive sponsorship.Afteryearsofrunningseparateoperations,afewmediacompanies, suchastheWashingtonPost,havemergedprintanddigitaloperationsandare implementing content management platforms that support the converged publishing model. Without going through a transformation such as this, media companiesmayrisklosingsignificantmarketsharetocompetitorsthattransform quicklyandsuccessfully. The challenge has been made even greater as the media industry has gone throughaconsolidationphasewithmanymergersandacquisitions.Thishasled to a proliferation of brands within single organizations along with the concomitantbaggageofdifferentprocesses,platforms,datastoresandcustomer bases that are even more difficult to integrate. This has led to further fragmentationofbrandsanduserbases.Mediacompaniescouldseeincreasesin viewership if they integrate and leverage content across multiple brands. With the recent acquisition of the Travel Channel, for example, Scripps Network whichalsoownsFoodNetworkandHGTVispresentedwithagreatopportunity tocrosspromotebrandsandofferricherproductstoviewersinterestedintravel, leisureandfoodbyintegratingcontentfromtheseproperties. This is a challenge that can be overcome through media convergence. But managing content creation and publishing across a heterogeneous application portfolio is any mediacompany executives nightmare. Executives first need to align business priorities with budgets and then overcome the reluctance of makingtheinvestmentwhileknowingwheretoinvestandwhetherornottotake therisk.
BusinessRequirementsMustDriveConvergence
Once a company has determined it's ready to make the organizational commitmenttoconvergeitscontentproduction,thenextstepistoalignwitha businessprocessandtechnologypartnerthatknowshowtoaccomplishthejob. Taking this approach is critical because process and technical challenges will undoubtedlyemergealongtheway. Oneofthekeyattributestolookforinapartneriswhetheritunderstandsthat the requirements of the business will drive the integration of the content channelsas opposed to the technology driving the integration. The right partner understands that contentproduction needs should be considered first, and they will know how to advise on the business processes that need to be implemented. The right partner knows what challenges a media company will face in implementingsuchasolutionandbringswithitbestpracticesandacceleratorsto complete the job quickly and efficiently. Some areas that are often overlooked includedetermininghowtomigratecontentfromtheexistingplatformsandhow to build the new information architecture. It's also critical to consider performance,scalabilityandusabilityrequirements.
TravelChannelCaseStudy
While creating an integrated multichannel content publishing platform, the Travel Channel faced several challenges: providing uniform user experiences; managingcontentworkflow;ensuringtimelycontentupdates;lackofconsistency betweentelevisionprogramcontentandwebsites;andcateringtoglobalusers. The company's websites also suffered from performance issues, especially as boththevolumeofinformationandthenumberofusersgrew. Virtusaconductedworkshopstounderstandthebusinessprocessflowandthen created the design as well as the architecture for an effective and robust content/website management system. The solution allowed Travel Channel to leverage a single, integrated multichannel publishing framework to collaboratively create, manage, deliver, and archive information that drives business operationsfrom documents, records and discussions to email, Web pages,andrichmedia. Virtusa also seamlessly integrated existing applications with a Vignette Content Management System to streamline the viewing and downloading of videos. IntegrationofAdvanceGoogleMapwiththewebsiteallowedfordisplayoftravel mapsandguideswithfeaturesanditineraries.FeatureslikeShare,Link,Rating, blogs, and discussion forum were also added and integrated to the website to make it a dynamic, Web 2.0 based portal. The solution has led to several key benefitsfortheTravelChannel:
Virtusa played a significant role as a strategicpartnerfortherelaunchofour website," said Drew Fredrick, Sr. Director IT & Technology, Travel Channel Media. "Virtusa's Vignette expertise and flexible engineering approach enabled us to adhere to the challenging timeline and deliver a high quality website with enhanced social media features. Virtusa's technical and operational expertise helped us overcome significant infrastructure and technicalchallengesduringthecourseof development by coordinating both on shoreandoffshoreresourcestomanage the schedule and the timeline. The end result is a new and improved user experienceaswellasasitethathasbeen streamlined for easeofuse and is rich withmultimediacontent.
Integrated brand visibility: The website is aligned with the companys core
brand (TV and print), allowing the Travel Channel to create a powerful, consistentandintegratedbrandpresenceacrossmultiplechannels.
Improvedcustomerexperience:Thenewwebsitepromotesbettercustomer
stickiness by providing a richer Web experience through enhanced usability and navigation across the website as well as greater interactive capabilities andcollaborationthroughtheuseofEnterprise2.0toolsandservices.
AboutVirtusa
Virtusa is a global information technology (IT) services companyprovidingITconsulting,systemsintegrationand applicationoutsourcing.VirtusafocusesonsimplifyingIT by consolidating, rationalizing and modernizing core customer facing processes into one or more core systems. We leverage a global delivery model to offer solutionsatacosteffectivepricepointandemploynew methodssuchasAgileandAcceleratedSolutionDesignto ensure that the right system is delivered the first time. Asaresult,organizationscanreducethecostoftheirIT operations while increasing their ability to meet the changingneedsofthebusiness. For more information on how Virtusa can take your enterprise from where it is to where it needs to be, please contact salesinquiries@virtusa.com or visit us at www.virtusa.com 2010 All rights reserved. Virtusa and all other related logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Virtusa Corporation in the United States, the European Union, and/or India. All other company and service names are the property of their respective holders and may be registered trademarks or trademarks in the UnitedStatesand/orothercountries.
BehzadIllchi
VicePresidentMedia&Entertainment
BehzadIlchiistheVicePresidentofMedia&EntertainmentBusinessUnitatVirtusa Corporation. He has over 25 years of experience working for a wide range of companies in the media and entertainment industry, including Viacom, News Corp, The Washington Post,Simon&Schuster,TheNewYorkTimes,Standard&Poors,NationalGeographic, TravelChannel,TimeWarnerandTribune. Hisexperiencesspanacrosstechnologymanagementandstrategy,largescalesystem implementation, digital media supply chain, intellectual property management, advertisingandecommerce.
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