Building the foundation for digital future with data centres

Digital media services are always thinking about the future. A recent survey reveals that the average consumer accesses at least four streaming platforms and a good 38% regularly log into more than five services. These digital media platforms are supported by robust data centres in India and other nations which are building the networks and infrastructure needed for digital transformation.

Growth of Digital Media Services during the Pandemic

The coronavirus situation has fast tracked existing trends in digital media. Streaming content services are seeing massive growth. Nielsen reports that streaming rose by 50% in the later stages of March 2020. Digital services expect many of these subscribers to continue with the platform even after the crisis reduces in intensity thanks to the constant influx of new content.

The pandemic has also boosted the video game market with sales rising 35% to $1.6 billion. Many players use online gaming to connect with others and socialize virtually to make up for COVID-19 restrictions. This increased demand has forced a lot of digital media providers to rapidly improve their infrastructure to deliver continuous service and high uptime levels.

The COVID-19 crisis has also increased general media viewing across several channels and we can identify crucial digital media developments from consumer preferences. The Global Web Index indicates that Millennials (24 to 37 years old) and Gen Z (16 to 23 years old) overwhelmingly prefer streaming TV services and online videos. These two user groups constitute a majority of our population; therefore, their digital media consumption habits are vital for both advertisers and providers.

Data Centres Shore Up Infrastructure

Digital media platforms need to have a robust foundation in their networks and infrastructure if they want to enjoy a successful and bright future. This depends on the support they get from data centres which play a crucial role in digital future. Speed and reliability are crucial elements for success and growth in the digital media sector. Modern data centres in India and other places present considerable upgrades over conventional on-premise systems, delivering greater redundancy, enhanced connectivity, and improved cooling and power efficiency.

Exclusive and high-quality content is a strong competitive advantage for a digital media provider, but it must ensure not to neglect speed and reliability. A substandard data center that is prone to frequent downtimes will impact streaming services and result in frustrating viewer experiences. Similarly, low-bandwidth and high-latency platforms cannot meet user demands and will turn away customers even if with good content. Consumers value their time and do not wish to wait for digital services to load without delay.

Though a lot of digital media services run their own data centres, consumer and technical demands are swiftly forcing them to consider cloud deployments and colocation arrangements that make use of data centres operated by third parties. Netflix made a move like that recently, undertaking a multi-year migration from private data centres to AWS cloud run by Amazon. This shift was motivated by a huge data centre disruption in 2008 and the company realized that it needed to make vital investments in data centre infrastructure and operations to grow its business and meet consumer demands.

How Data Centres can Help Digital Media Platforms Prepare for Future Trends and Needs

The economy is becoming increasingly specialized and organizations should try to focus on niche areas of their sector. Digital media platforms can leverage advanced data centres to deliver their services and dedicate their assets to offering improved customer experiences to gain a competitive edge.

It makes sense to build and operate a company-owned data centre from a visibility and control viewpoint, but this should not be done at the cost of a company’s main services. Concentrating on developing an advanced data centre to provide reliable and low-latency digital media can impact the content quality of the platform.

We suggest that the solution for media organizations is to hire colocation data centres like those run by STT GDC India that offer high-quality viewer experiences for their captivating content so that subscribers return for more. Through our eight data centres in India, we provide flexible and reliable infrastructure to build the foundation for a digital future.