| | JUNE 20178CIOReviewBuilding a Content Pipeline for Today and TomorrowBy Cindy McKenzie, CIO, & Allan Lamkin, CTO, Deluxe Entertainment Services GroupIn My OpinionThis is an exciting and challenging time to be in technology at a Media and Entertainment com-pany. Demand for content is exploding and the once-solid walls dividing television shows, on-demand programming, movies, webisodes, user generated content and every other type of media are quickly crumbling. There are new ways to look at content­in HDR, 4K and even 8K, on every kind of screen, from theaters to smart devices. Consum-ers worldwide expect to see their content "on-demand": what they want, when and how they want to see it. Transitioning from a Media Industry to a Technology IndustryM&E is a technology industry now. The changes started over a decade ago, as physical media such as film and tape started giving way to digital files in numerous formats and companies and personnel who were slow to adapt are losing their footing. Deluxe itself has transformed, from nearly a century as a photochemical film laboratory, creating and shipping physical media around the world, into a global digital platform company, with services to address the increasingly complex digital supply chain of content from ingest to delivery including post production, visual effects, localization, IP delivery, business intelligence and more, with the goal of providing end-to-end services for content creators, owners, and providers. Addressing Globalization The industry's demand for globalized content is growing exponentially. Content distributors are racing to meet consumers' ever-increasing demand for content by distributing both new and catalog content globally in local languages. The amount of content originating in non-English-speaking countries is rapidly increasing as evidenced by the growth of the entertainment industries in India and China and the desire to reach global audiences with this content as well. These factors have caused the need for more varied types of translations and tailoring processes to adhere to local standards and practices. In parallel, the industry is moving to a day and date release strategy for theatrical products, shrinking the windows between US and international distribution dates, VOD and Internet releases and a whole-season release strategy for video content through OTT providers. The combination of the growth in localized content and shrinking windows requires increased efficiencies to meet these industry demands.Serving the Wide Variety of Consumption Options Audiences expect to consume their favorite entertainment, from films to TV, sports, and live events in theaters, on TV (in HDR, 4K, 8K, etc) and on all manner of devices. Picture and sound must be optimized for every type of screen and content providers need to think several steps ahead to anticipate what's coming and optimize content for consumption in ways that aren't even available yet. How Technology is Being Harnessed to Meet these NeedsTo address these challenges, Deluxe has made significant changes in its technology environment, both organizationally and technically. One step Deluxe has taken is to design and implement a "one workflow" platform with a microservices architecture. This allows the global operations teams to utilize the same processes and workflows, but to create the customized content deliverables as required. This infrastructure makes extensive use Allan Lamkin
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