Interview With Julien Signes, Executive Vice President, Video Network, Synamedia.

Origins and Evolution: Synamedia’s Separation from Cisco

– When was the company founded?

– The company was founded in October 2018. It was separated from Cisco. Here’s the story: Cisco acquired two major players in the video space, Scientific Atlanta and NDS. They merged the two and placed them in a service provider group. However, in 2018, they made the decision to spin off this group. Primera, a large private equity firm, purchased the company from Cisco. So, essentially, it began in 2018 after separating from Cisco.

Synamedia’s Expertise: From Video Solutions to Content Distribution

– What was the company’s specialization then and now?

At a high level, our specialization lies in video solutions, primarily for B2B businesses and operators. We focus on delivering secure video experiences and enabling various functions. We have three core areas of expertise. First is security, where we have extensive experience combating piracy, which is a major concern in professional video, particularly for premium content. We offer a range of solutions to protect content.

Second is the user experience, where we concentrate on helping users find and select content, record metadata, and personalize content through targeted advertising. Finally, in my division – the video network division – we handle content distribution, including storage, processing, compression, delivery, point-to-point distribution, and encoding/decoding. Essentially, we cover all aspects related to content distribution.

Global Presence: Synamedia’s Expansive Reach and Offices

– Where is the current central office located, and in which countries do you still have offices?

The company is headquartered in London, UK. We have offices in several locations. Some of the major ones include Jerusalem, Israel, for security R&D; Kortrijk, Belgium, for video network; as well as France, the US, Bangladesh, and India. We also have smaller offices and remote staff in various other countries.

Transformation through Cloud Migration: Synamedia’s Forward-Thinking Approach

– What results has the company achieved since its inception, and how do you assess its current position in the market?

A significant part of the company’s transformation has been driven by the migration to the cloud. In the past, the industry heavily relied on on-premises solutions, which were primarily implemented in software or legacy hardware in private data centers. However, over the past five years, there has been a notable acceleration in the migration of media operations to the cloud. This has been a major focus of our company’s innovation, encompassing the migration of various components, including video processing, security, advertising, and more.

We do not offer a one-size-fits-all approach. We have achieved considerable success across numerous initiatives. To highlight one specific area, our acquisition of Quortex has enabled us to offer the industry’s only truly multi-tenant SaaS solutions for just-in-time processing of live and OTT video. This milestone has been instrumental in our growth. Additionally, we were involved in distributing 4K World Cup signals for BeIN Sports during the recent soccer World Cup. We have made various innovations in collaboration with key customers and one ongoing theme revolves around migrating customers to the cloud, for example, SportsMax.

Financial metrics also play a role in measuring our current position. We have set targets and are continuously working towards achieving our goals and increasing profitability each year.

Addressing Market Challenges: Synamedia’s Solutions for Modern Media Operators

– What are the biggest challenges faced by pay-TV operators, broadcasters, and streaming providers?

One of the primary challenges at a high level is the shift in consumer behavior, with a significant number of users moving away from traditional pay-TV and opting for over-the-top (OTT) services. This transition, accompanied by the rise in streaming services, has resulted in a decrease in the pay-TV user base. Another challenge is that the market faces challenges related to fragmentation, piracy, and ensuring a high-quality user experience.

– What products do you offer to address these problems?

Our products are designed to tackle the challenges operators face. We provide solutions that enable content discovery and incorporate addressable advertising, recognizing that many people prefer not to pay substantial sums for subscriptions.

Content security is another area we focus on, addressing the need to protect valuable content. Also, we offer products that address the issue of flexibility in video scaling during streaming, allowing operators to adapt to varying demands effectively.

Client Testimonials: Synamedia’s Successful Collaborations with Global Brands

– Who are the company’s main customers, and which project are you most proud of right now?

We have many customers, including beIN, who are a big customer for our entire range of products. We like to talk about them because they use our newest media web and cloud products, including Quortex Playfor delivery. They’re really good customers and represent a new generation of operators—purely OTT—without traditional infrastructures. Another interesting customer is Yes TV in Israel. They’re working on a major project to shift their traditional satellite customers to IP-only services. And with our solutions, they’ve been able to deliver an end-to-end OTT experience that’s just as good, if not better, than satellite. They are achieving this using our low latency technologies, which are super important for scaling.

Another customer is Sports Max. They were actually one of the first to use our cloud services for migration from satellite. We’re really proud of this project for a couple of reasons. First, they were in a tough spot, with a whole system that had no support and some big events coming up. They needed a scalable solution, and they chose our cloud solution. We were able to deploy them in the cloud within 48 hours, and they’ve been thrilled with how stable their offering has been since then. They truly embody everything we believe in when it comes to the cloud.

Another really cool app in the sports arena, developed with our partner NativeWaves, uses low latency streaming tech that lets you replay or view different camera angles on your phone both in-stadium and away. We combined these innovations with a local 5G network through our partner Cellnex, along with our video and interactive technologies. So yeah, those are some of the things we’re proud of at the moment.

Product Customization: Balancing Standardization with Unique Client Needs

– How customizable are your products? How easily can they be adapted to the functionality and requirements of customers?

As we transition to a multi-tenant SaaS architecture, our products are becoming more standardized. While there used to be a lot of customization using APIs in parts of our company, our focus now is on offering more standard products. We strive to be agile and responsive to customer feedback, quickly incorporating new features and innovations. The aim is to have standardized products that can be widely used due to their scalability. If customers require additional features beyond the standard offering, we work with them to include those in the product roadmap. For deeper customization, customers can either enhance the product themselves or seek assistance from third-party integrators.

Embracing the Cloud: The Heart of Synamedia’s Modern Video Solutions

– How important is the cloud for you and your customers?

The cloud is very important as it addresses key customer concerns, such as time-to-market. In traditional approaches, implementing new solutions could take months, but with the cloud, it can be accomplished instantly or within a few days. We have demonstrated this capability by deploying massive cloud solutions in just 48 hours.

yes selects Synamedia for distribution watermarking on streaming services

Additionally, the cloud offers elasticity, allowing for scalability according to demand. Unlike on-premise infrastructure where everything must be prepared for worst-case scenarios, the cloud provides agility, flexibility, and shorter time-to-market. It enables continuous innovation for us and our customers.

Collaborative Innovation: Synamedia’s Integration with Third-Party Solutions

– Do you work with third-party products too?

Given the breadth of our solutions, we integrate with third-party products, and for customization, we collaborate with third-party integrators. We integrate various technologies, such as NativeWaves for the interactive aspects of the viewers’ sports experience. While we have our own products, we also have a network of third-party distributors and integrators. In the video network division, we have 150 resellers who combine our products with other third-party solutions to deliver comprehensive customer solutions. We are open to collaborations and partnerships.

AI’s Role in Media: Synamedia’s Utilization and Exploration of Advanced Technologies

– What impact has AI had on your team and your technology?

AI has had a significant impact. We have been using conventional AI in several areas of our technology stack for some time, including encoding to predict the optimal encoding path and for viewer recommendations. We primarily use statistical AI, where we use insight from a dataset for decision-making. While we have not yet implemented generative AI, we are actively exploring its potential.

Expanding Horizons: Synamedia’s Vision for Central Asia and the Middle East

– What are your plans for Central Asia and the Middle East? Are these regions important for the growth of your company?

Central Asia and the Middle East is a key growth areas for us with significant potential activity. That’s why we are engaged in discussions and exploring opportunities across these regions.

– What will be your key themes at this year’s IBC in September?

The details of our plans are still being finalized, but one important topic we anticipate is connecting sports fans with the viewing experience, extending the messaging we started at NAB in Las Vegas in April.

In general, sports streaming is an important theme for us, as it pushes the boundaries for viewers both in the stadium and at home or on the move. Additionally, we anticipate further investments and advancements in cloud technologies. Our product line will continue to evolve, building upon our previous launch of Quortex Link at NAB. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements and developments.