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and distribution platform replaces traditional on-premises technology and allows teams to work securely no matter where they are . The ability to easily scale in the cloud has meant our customers can easily expand to meet demand and transcode content up to 35X faster than traditional infrastructure . Bridge : Without a doubt , Content Delivery Networks ( CNDs ) have been put to the test in the last year . With more people spending more time at home , the demand for content skyrocketed and we saw the rise of several direct-to-consumer ( D2C ) streaming platforms emerge , such as Disney + topping 116m subscribers , as well as the launch of platforms like Peacock , Discovery +, Paramount + and HBO Max . However , with each new service , the market grows more crowded with options , which is prompting these content providers to focus on delivering a standout audience experience . Not only has the rise of D2C services demanded more reliability from CDNs , but the race to deliver a better experience for the consumer has tested their limits , given the requirements for higher performance , speed , agility , and the ability to scale globally . Broadpeak : Based on the CDN services that Broadpeak provides to operators , we definitely saw a global increase in content consumption , with specific peaks in live content related to official announcements about the pandemic . Mediaproxy : The cloud is certainly a big winner here . It was technically already happening before the pandemic , but certainly became a necessity after Covid hit and facilities relied heavily on remote operations and working from home . Plume : The lockdown has undoubtedly increased the amount of streaming entertainment that is being consumed . Plume saw the usage of entertainment devices ( TVs , set-top boxes , and gaming consoles ) rise from 2.1 hours per day before Covid to ~ 2.9 hours during the workday ( weekdays 6am-6pm ). Perhaps more surprising was a similar rise ( 2.9 hours to 3.8 hours ) in entertainment device usage in the traditional time window of Saturday and Sunday after 6pm . Serving that much more video to each home places a significant strain on content delivery networks . Spicy Mango : CDNs have coped incredibly well and capacity in this area has not been an issue generally . This has probably been helped largely due to the fact that in the early days there were fewer live events and most content consumption was via on-demand , so the loads were spread out . Synamedia : Yes , but that is a trend that predates the pandemic . Video streaming services demand growth – together with the migration of operational functions such as QoS , adinsertion , and watermarking continuing to drive CDN demand .
Torque : OTT services have certainly been popular and continue to do well . However , I think we will start to see some disturbances in the market as it fragments into pockets of exclusive content . VIAVI : Increasing data demands and a growing work-from-anywhere trend have strained content delivery networks . Cable operators and service providers are challenged to shift resources , maintain connectivity , and manage bandwidth as networks are strained to the breaking point , creating both performance and security challenges . How has your organisation handled challenges in recruitment and training ? Accedo : Building a personal feeling for the candidate can be difficult if doing it all remote . I ’ ve found that it is important to adopt new formats of interviews . For me , this means talking to lots of candidates but having a brief 15 minutes screening chat . Ateliere : It takes little time to get our customers onboarded and up and running in Ateliere ’ s cloud-based environment . Remote working from home has opened the doors to a world of talent that we traditionally may have overlooked . AWS : Virtual is our new normal . Interviews that once took place weekly on-site , now happen online . That said , we ’ re very mindful of the pitfalls that accompany virtual interviews and are working closely with our recruiting teams to ensure a seamless and positive experience for interview candidates . To keep our process effective , we must get creative , which means envisioning bootcamps and workshops that give our teams valuable takeaways . We ’ re also experimenting with smaller scale in-person gatherings accompanied by video conferences in a hybrid setting . Bridge : We ’ ve been looking for avenues to involve the team in being creative and enjoying themselves ever since the end of the last lockdown . This resulted in us creating a parody music video . It ’ s not exactly your traditional recruitment approach . As well as getting the existing team fired up , the idea was to subvert some of the stereotypes that exist about engineering and the idea that it ’ s often dry and antisocial . Plume : As a rapidly expanding business in terms of customers and geographies , we have
more than doubled its employee base since the start of the lockdown , and have always adopted flexible working policies where we are not constrained by geography . VeEX : Recruitment has not been easy , since we are in a very competitive market and region . Fortunately , long before Covid , we started hiring young talent in an effort to train the next generation of communication engineers , ensuring the future of the company . With regards to training , we don ’ t have formal programmes , as we prefer side-by-side handson mentoring . How do Service Providers ensure QoE across a range of networks and devices ? Accedo : We are launching services across more than 40 platforms and technologies , so have always had to leverage a virtual environment for testing . The difference now is that we have had to invest in devices that can be spread across people ’ s own homes . Ateliere : Our digital content supply chain benefits from Amazon Web Services ’ commitment to 99.999 % reliability . A common cause of failure in on-premises infrastructure is resource saturation when the demands exceed infrastructure capacity . AWS : A critical part of our daily mission is to ensure the security of our infrastructure , as well as uptime and resiliency . Our customers trust that AWS will provide the infrastructure needed to power and secure large-scale D2C platforms , business critical workflows for sports and film productions , and media supply
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