How to Control Cloud Streaming CapEx and OpEx
What are the best strategies streamers can follow to manage the costs of cloud streaming architecture and production and maximize efficiencies in their workflows? AWS’ John Barber, IMAX’s Abdul Rehman, Zixi’s Eric Bolten, and SVTA’s Jason Thibeault discuss cloud streaming cost management in this clip from Streaming Media Connect 2024.
The key points of controlling cloud streaming CapEx and OpEx
Barber outlines the key points of controlling cloud streaming CapEx and OpEx: the cost implications of operational and capital expenditures, the importance of managing predictability in expenses, and the differences between constant load workflows and on-demand processing.
“You have the whole production piece,” he says. “You may be sending out content that's already pre-produced, which is just a single stream, or you might be running a whole truck or a whole in the cloud production. Those can get very expensive, both on OpEx and CapEx. Once you get the live production in or pass through, then you have the video prep to get ready for the encoding and the streaming, and then you come up with the delivery. So the CDN, the player, the DRM, and the analytics. Those are really the major chunks that we see.”
The higher costs of constant load workflows vs. on-demand
Thibeault asks for Bolten and Rehman’s thoughts.
Rehman says, “I think constant load workflows, where you need to process 24/7/365, those are the areas where you have higher costs than on-demand, where you require a whole lot of scale. Relatively speaking, [they’re] on the cheaper side.”
The need for efficient architecture to manage costs
Bolten highlights the need for efficient architecture to manage costs and the balance between initial higher expenses and long-term efficiencies.
“From a Zixi perspective in the transport world, there's certainly production,” he says. “We've done some production in the cloud. We showed it at NAB, where we were able to use replay and packaging and actually cut a show. But in terms of overall OpEx costs, you've got your egress, a level of compute, and then you try to manage those elements as elegantly as you can, and you're going to chip away at that. But it's egress and how you architect that. Your commercials will be a direct result of your architecture.”
He emphasizes the importance of managing the predictable aspects of cost. “Linear versus occasional use event-based,” he says. “How does one manage slates? How does one manage switching? How does one manage all the elements? Because when the lights are on, they cost money, and if the lights are off, they do not. So you try to manage that elegance, and then you contrast that with the agility and customizable scenarios that you can run in use cases within the cloud. So I think it's part of an education. I would say that in the initial steps, things tend to be more expensive, but over time, you refine that program and you milk out those efficiencies as you go line by line.”
Join us in November 2024 for more thought leadership, actionable insights, and lively debate at Streaming Media Connect.
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