For vendors, automation support is tough business
Nov 24, 2008 11:02 AM, By Michael Grotticelli
With the Omnibus iTX platform, when one piece needs updating or new features added, the entire platform is not affected.
“It’s no longer point-to-point products; it’s now smoothing out workflows across multiple channels,” Cabeceiras said. “No two customers are alike; they’re like snowflakes. That gets expensive for a vendor to maintain. Customers are always balancing operating expenses of these software-based platforms versus using human beings at X dollars per hour to do the job. The key is figuring out which one brings the most benefit for a station or facility.”
The issue that broadcasters need to understand is that they are not buying a single-task piece of equipment, like a VTR, that can be relied on to perform at a certain level and needs few upgrades. Cabeceiras said broadcasters usually don’t plan for the additional cost associated with software maintenance over a system’s lifecycle.
System integrators also discuss the software maintenance issue with their clients. John Footen, director of software systems engineering at National TeleConsultants — a design, engineering and systems integration company that installs automation systems — said that the industry has to have a shift in mentality about software maintenance and how it’s dealt with in service contracts. He said that automation customers should expect to pay 10 percent of original system cost per year for maintenance.
Service contracts should be closely evaluated and software maintenance included as an integral part of that. In addition, broadcasters should adjust the architectures of their systems so they can more readily replace software without too much difficulty.
“Software-based systems are clearly what we need in order to execute the business models our clients now pursue,” Footen said. “The high prices associated with that are going to be the norm for a long time; however, I’m not convinced that the cost is prohibitive, especially when you look at the benefits an automation system provides. Software allows broadcasters to be more agile in how they build out their systems and what that system can accomplish.”
National TeleConsultants has been encouraging the use of service-oriented architectures that tie together all of the different proprietary software systems (e.g. asset management islands) yet keeps them separate when addressing maintenance. The key is to do so in a way that gives users better control over the process.
“We try to make our customers understand the full ROI of a system before they install it,” Footen said. “You have to look down the road at where you want to go and how you want to get there. There’s a cost associated with that.”
Going forward, automation software will become more of a networked tool that will be embedded into a product closely associated with a specific task as opposed to automating an entire workflow. Metadata will have a big role in making that possible. This trend is a move away from what automation has traditionally been — a tool to assist master control operators.
When determining the CapEX for an automation system, broadcasters should provision for the changing way they will use a system in the future. As broadcasters’ workflows change, the products will change. So for users, that means new software about every 15 months.
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