MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) is addressing the challenges faced by the media and entertainment industry to meet the demands of the digital consumer at IBC 2015. 

Focusing on ‘Digital Next’ realities, PFT is offering solutions for broadcasters, studios, production houses and networks that will help virtualise the content supply chain and build a connected enterprise. 

Clear Media ERP Suite: Enterprise software for virtualising the content supply chain: Building a connected and digital ecosystem is key to managing the business of content. With cycle times being reduced from 30 days to 30 minutes, and higher speed and content volume demands, businesses need to be agile in the digital era. To do this, margin-pressed film studios and broadcasters need to shift focus towards flexible, modular, cost effective and collaborative enterprise software to improve operational efficiencies. 

PFT’s Clear Media ERP Suite, on display at IBC 2015, brings content to the center of the business and has helped content enterprises cut 30 per cent of operational costs and gain 40 per cent more efficiencies. The CLEAR Media ERP Suite is rich in applications that allow for workflow orchestration across enterprise, supply chain and partner ecosystems. In virtualising these processes, PFT has helped content providers drive creative enablement, enhance efficiencies, lower the total cost of ownership and discover new monetization opportunities. 

Clear Operations Cloud, also on display at IBC 2015, is industry’s first ever end-to-end content operations on cloud for multi-platform distribution. With 800 million iTunes users, 60 million subscribers on Netflix, six billion hours of video watched per month on YouTube, and with 19 per cent of US millennials using Amazon Prime, content providers are in a mad race to get content to digital platforms faster and cheaper. They need to do that with not only the lowest total cost of delivery but enable it to be more discoverable for the consumers quickly. PFT’s Clear Operations Cloud helps do just that – not just store and transcode, but perform end-to-end content operations on the cloud.  Powered by transcoders including Elemental, Rhozet, AmberFin, Digital Rapids and more, PFT’s Operations Cloud is a unique infrastructure that offers content enterprises the ability to choose the transcoder that suit them best, while utilising PFT’s custom workflow orchestration to package and deliver.

PFT’s Clear Operations Cloud also provides 4K support, including a 4K up-conversion module, by leveraging the Academy Award winning Lowry image processing libraries. This is supported by GPU Cloud Computing infrastructure.

“Media and Entertainment companies cannot have islands of automation anymore. If they need to battle low margins and build operational efficiencies, they need to digitally transform to build a connected enterprise. They need to become hyper digital to cater to the hyper digital consumer. That’s the digital next reality,” said Prime Focus Technologies founder and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan.