FileCatalyst exhibited at the IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) show in Amsterdam, the expo portion having run from September 7–11. It is one of the biggest shows of its type in the world, and I always find it interesting to be a part of the team in attendance. With IBC 2012 behind us, here are some parting thoughts:
It was hectic, and I mean that in the best way. This year’s attendance was the highest in IBC’s history with 51000 attendees. The traffic at our booth has also reached a record with a 25% improvement over last year.
Live sporting events need accelerated file transfer: The special focus event on “Behind the Scenes at London 2012 Olympics” generated a lot of interest, bringing many broadcasters and video publishers to our booth. We demonstrated how live sports productions can benefit from fast file transfer solutions such as FileCatalyst.
Most organizations are moving or have already switched to a tapeless workflow, but they have new problems to solve. With the transition of most broadcasters from tapes to file based workflows mostly complete or well under way, we had a number of opportunities to demonstrate how the FileCatalyst technology can integrate and bring further value into a tapeless workflow. With tapes, you have no choice but to ship. With digital, you can still ship (hard drives or optical media), but there are opportunities to move away from that model completely with purely digital transport (ie. file transfer!).
Mobility is not just a concern of the consumer. Companies like Quicklink (who have integrated FileCatalyst technology) are ensuring that remote professionals such as journalists are able to transfer their media quickly and efficiently from specialized units or from their mobile devices. We only recently released our iOS and Android apps, but conversations around mobile reinforced the validity of that move.
IBC movie night showing Prometheus was very entertaining and once again it brought many people involved with digital cinema to our booth. We were very happy to show them how Digital Cinema outlets and distribution services can benefit from our technology.
Finally, the IBC Exhibitor Party was phenomenal with great food, live music and a burlesque show. IBC further proves it is not just about business, but is also a very important social event in the broadcast and media industry.
Until Next Year!
The value that IBC brings to FileCatalyst is incredible. Naturally, we are looking for business opportunities, but it’s more than that. IBC is arguably the best place to keep your finger on the pulse of digital media production. From live events to journalism to production of scripted media, the transfer of large media files is critical to the industry. FileCatalyst was there for early adopters of fast and managed file transfer, and we continue to lead the way as more and more companies recognize the need. IBC has always been one of the top venues for sharing our vision, and we will certainly be back. See you in 2013!