Imagine this happening in April 2019:
A die-hard ‘Game of Thrones’ fan is all set to watch the Season eight’s first episode, equipped with a large popcorn bucket. Inhaling deeply, with sweat dripping down his face, he is on the edge of his seat, grasping his iPad tightly, ready to watch the drama unfold. But just as the title song comes to an end, starts the much-dreaded “Buffering”.
A few moments later he hears a loud noise coming from his neighbour’s house – “No, he can’t be dead. Come on George RR Martin, you can’t do this to us.” Confused, he looks back at his screen, only to see his favourite character dead. Frustrated how he is much behind on the action, he vows to switch his streaming service provider before he watches the second episode.
Just like this viewer, there are millions out there who are ready to switch their streaming service providers if they are unhappy with the service. And this one factor has increasingly exposed streaming service providers to the latency challenge in their quest for viewership.
Be Fast or Be Out of Business
When it comes to streaming video content, viewers have little patience for delays. A study conducted found that customers began abandoning a buffering video only after a ‘two-second delay’, with a significant drop in viewership subsequently at a rate of about six percent per second.
“Thus, for streaming service providers, latency can absolutely kill their business”.
And with increasing number of streaming service providers breaking into the market today, the challenges are only going to increase. To aggravate the situation, the proliferation of smartphones has also increased this expectation among viewers that they should be able to view their content anyplace at any time.
Given these inescapable bottlenecks for streaming service providers, they need a solution that will not only allow them to meet their customer’s demands but also save from the risk of losing market share.
The Data Center Angle: Delivering Content Instantly
Fortunately, ‘Data Centers’ offer a way out for streaming service providers looking to deliver content without latency. In fact, Data Centers share its due credit in making Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Go and other video services “Faster and Better”.
To start with, highly connected data centers act as connectivity hubs and play a vital role in crunching broadcast data and spinning it out globally. This ensures low latency and reliable streaming for everyone.
Moreover, leading providers of data center in India allow the media to be sourced close by, thus, cutting down on bandwidth and increasing speed. Thus, strategically placed data centres offered by leading providers like STT GDC India are the solution to the problem plaguing the digital media industry.
Keeping the Uninterrupted Video Streaming Alive
The advantages of using data centers are helping the media and entertainment sector face its most critical challenges:
- Speed and Agility
In order to stay competitive, streaming service providers are under constant pressure to distribute the original content faster. Without data centers, it would be close to impossible to manage, store and transmit the huge quantity of content in a dynamic and agile manner.
- Unpredictable Customer Demand
There is no denying the fact that viewers today expect agility and choices. Further, their demands can be erratic, with crests and troughs in viewership that that must be managed continuously. The on-demand and scalability features of data centers provide the required levels of flexibility to meet such volatile demands.
- Topnotch Security
Top providers of Data Center in India and around the world are equipped with the necessary resources for maintaining high security, more so than the business itself. Moreover, continues upgradation of their facilities ensure that the data is secure and protected through physical monitoring, fire detection and control.
By incorporating data centers into the streaming service strategies, content providers can beat a large number of challenges inherent with delivering high-quality content. As more organizations swarm their way into the streaming market, data centers will continue to represent a preferred standpoint for companies hoping to limit latency and benefit as much as possible from its network.
