Miami Heat, Disney and Universal join Microsoft at IBC

The Miami Heat basketball team, Walt Disney Studios, Universal Pictures and other organisations will join Microsoft’s showcase at IBC on 8-11 September. They will cover a range of topics in Microsoft’s three sessions, including cloud-based production and how to engage with and retain fans in this climate. 

Microsoft Azure chief technology officer Hanno Basse will lead the ‘Collaborate, Create and Innovate: Production in the Cloud’ discussion on 10 September, joined by:

• Annie Chang, vice president of creative technologies at Universal Pictures,
  
  
• Eddie Drake, head of technology at Marvel Studios,
  
  
• Neil Beckford, vice president of technology and security at Technicolor,
  
  
• Jim Helman, chief technology officer at MovieLabs,
  
  
• Ray Thompson, director of broadcast and media solutions marketing at Avid. 

IBC says that “together, they will speak about the evolution of content creation workflows, the role cloud and edge technologies can play and the work they are doing to help the creative community”.

Miami Heat will feature in the event’s ‘Understanding Your Audience: Engaging and retaining your fans in these dynamic times’ session, where attendees will hear from the team’s executive vice president of business strategy, Matthew Jafarian; Edson Crevecoeur, vice president of strategy and data analytics at 601 Analytics and Miami Heat; and Microsoft’s sports partnerships leads Mike Downey and Vick Wowo. The group will share their insights on the challenges facing the sports and entertainment industry. 

Microsoft will also lead a round-table conversation about how the cloud, artificial intelligence and dynamic distribution frameworks will help businesses meet the new demands driven by Covid-19. In that discussion, participants will hear from:

• Erik Ramberg, vice president of global business development at Mediakind, 
  
  
• Shahar Bar, senior vice president of video products and corporate development at Harmonic,
  
  
• Chris Drake, global vice president of media and entertainment at Verizon Media, 
  
  
• David Sayed, principal product marketing manager at Microsoft.

See the full programme at the IBC website.