Cisco floats Videoscape into the Cloud
January 7, 2014
By Colin Mann
In a further move distancing video delivery services away from the customer’s set-top box and the operator’s network infrastructure, Cisco has announced an expansion of its Videoscape TV services delivery platform to include a host of new cloud video capabilities, including an industry-first Videoscape ‘as-a-service’ offering and open cloud software technologies based on OpenStack. These added capabilities will help service providers and media companies enhance agility, increase revenue and reduce operating expenses.
Cisco says that with new software and technology for both private and public cloud services, this comprehensive new set of Videoscape cloud capabilities, part of the broader corporate virtualisation strategy, will give service providers and media companies the ability to capitalise on the Internet of Everything. Together, they will provide simplified options to quickly deliver new consumer experiences, such as second screen and 4Kvideo, and offer more customisation and personalisation for viewing and sharing content across multiple devices.
Hubert Cariou, director, Bouygues Telecom, said that with shorter development and deployment intervals for new products, the operator viewed cloud as a way to help lower the costs of introducing new services with extremely flexible scalability. Fernando Bittencourt, CTO, TV Globo, said the successful deployment of the video application for The Voice Brasil excited about the broadcaster about the possibilities to deliver similar experiences to its customers for even more programmes to come. Itzhak Elyakim, vice president of engineering and CTO, yes, looked forward to exploring together how Cisco’s new Videoscape cloud capabilities can support and enhance the operator’s OpenStack-based private cloud video services, and newly launched yesGO service.
Joe Cozzolino, senior vice president and general manager, Service Provider Video Infrastructure, Cisco, claimed that Videoscape led the industry as a platform for delivering exciting video services and experiences. “With these new Videoscape cloud capabilities, our customers have two additional ways to deploy Videoscape, meaning they can get new services to market faster than ever before. Plus our unique Cisco Fusion strategy allows customers to mix-and-match deployment options to best grow revenue and reduce their overall costs to roll out video services, including exciting second screen, 4K video and IoE based Connected Life services.”
In a separate announcement, Cisco revealed that it has been selected to provide video hardware and cloud software components from its Videoscape TV services delivery platform to NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, to support transcoding and content management during its production of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, from February 6-February 23.