Elly Yates-Roberts |
UK TV network ITV Daytime has transformed its production workflows and delivered a more flexible work environment by partnering with Microsoft and Avid to migrate to the cloud.
ITV Daytime decided to move its workflows to the cloud to enable a hybrid and secure production environment with the ability to add or remove resources in real time, and to create a modern and sustainable work environment that supports creative teams working from anywhere. It also wanted to use familiar tools from Avid on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to ensure that ITV editors always have access to the latest software in a secure environment.
“Our business has really changed in the past two years, and we needed a new way of working that didn't involve several different parts of the business footing the bill,” said Tim Guilder, Head of Production Technology for ITV Studios. “We needed to be more agile, to be able to spin resources up and down. The global pandemic was the catalyst for change and enabled the dedicated focus of the technologists to find out how to work in a different and more modern way.”
Working with Avid, Microsoft, and UK-based Support Partners, ITV decided to deploy a customised Avid NEXIS video storage solution. Together, the firms were able to create a hybrid cloud editing environment through which editors could access, edit and seamlessly move content to and from their on-premises workstations to the cloud, while collaborating with team members from anywhere.
“ITV Daytime has been a long-time customer of Avid, and we were eager to work with their team, along with Microsoft and Support Partners, to deliver a secure, cloud-based workflow,” said Craig Dwyer, vice president of global cloud & SaaS practice at Avid. “In so doing, we provided a pathway for others in the industry to quickly deploy a scalable production environment in the cloud, with the ability to dial resources up and down as needed, while letting editors work from anywhere on the software they know – and to do it securely.”
ITV Daytime editors can now complete programmes from nearly any location. The network has the infrastructure in place to navigate future needs for scaling production resources and creating remote working environments. Microsoft Azure ensures the security of ITV’s assets, and the network’s use of the cloud has increased production capacity.
“At Microsoft our goal is to empower global teams to collaborate seamlessly and securely, and through our partnership on this project with ITV, Avid, and Support Partners, we are able to do just that,” said Simon Crownshaw, director of worldwide strategy for media and entertainment at Microsoft. “And, with leading companies like ITV committing to embrace the power of the cloud for production, this is just the beginning of enabling media organisations to achieve things never thought possible by harnessing the power of cloud.”