Globecast begins its services based on Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Systems built using IaC can be as simple or as complex as required, for example, a complex, fully cloud-based streaming infrastructure can be built much more quickly and cost-effectively through this method.

The global media solutions provider Globecast is betting heavily on technology Infrastructure as Code (IaC) with the conviction that it will revolutionize the media and entertainment industry.

IaC is the process of creating and managing cloud-based technologies using scripts, therefore, code, to do it. The script is “read”, or accepted, by systems such as CloudFormation AWS or the cloud agnostic solution Terraform. Systems built using IaC can be as simple or as complex as required, for example, a complex, fully cloud-based streaming infrastructure can be built much more quickly and cost-effectively through this method.

Ian Redgewell, director of media management at Globecast, gives as an example "the deployment of a new cloud-based platform for a client that uses infrastructure as code. Everything necessary such as the 50 servers we need, the software we need to run on those servers, the network, all the IP addresses, the user accounts, the security permissions... can be 'written' in a single document using the correct code. That is executed through the aforementioned systems and the infrastructure is created."

While it of course takes time to create the code, this process eliminates any on-site installation work and, increasingly relevant, elimina los complejos y multifacéticos procesos manuales de creación de servicios en la nube. Hay otros tres beneficios claros: los cambios en cualquier plataforma/servicio, o la aplicación de parches de seguridad, se pueden manejar fácilmente editando el código, y los cambios se hacen entonces de forma instantánea; una vez que un sistema está en funcionamiento, se puede retirar en cuestión de segundos; luego se puede volver a desplegar según se requiera para el lanzamiento de otro servicio o para un evento ad-hoc casi instantáneamente. Los eventos deportivos puntuales son un buen ejemplo de dónde se verán los beneficios de esto.

Globecast has already deployed IaC, initially for a relatively simple project, allowing advertising content providers for a playout client to simply press a button to send relevant ads through the cloud to a variety of landing areas for insertion by Globecast. This means that spot providers do not have to install any proprietary software (which will vary from playout provider to playout provider) and do not have to use older technologies, FTP being the main example. This allowed Globecast to implement the system in a small fraction of the time it would have taken previously. It also allows Globecast to easily manage any changes to advertising providers within minutes each time.

Redgewell adds that "we see IaC as critical to maximizing the potential of the cloud. It's a true 'gamechanger'. This is the way to work as we move forward. The speed-to-market advantage is huge, as is the cost savings. And the ability to reuse entire systems is a huge step. The potential for cost savings is magnified by this. We're talking about deploying very complex solutions, maintaining them, easily making changes and removing entire systems or redistributing them in minutes.”