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An Easy Way Media Companies Can Gain an Advantage on the Competition

/ by Anthony Iovino

team working on a project sitting at a table with tablets and smart phones media organizationsThe local media industry continues to be in a transitional period following the rise of digital news consumption and the resulting declines in advertising revenue on traditional platforms. In order to stay competitive, print and broadcast outlets must build their online presence while ensuring that their television or print products innovate to remain relevant. Online-only outlets, meanwhile, have an opportunity to make further inroads with media consumers and build valuable user and subscriber bases that support their bottom lines.

So just how can local media organizations gain the upper hand against their competition? While marketing and brand strategies are important, the clearest way to become more competitive is through embracing technology. Implementing new systems can help to streamline operations and reduce costs (when they are implemented properly). By consolidating technology operations and infrastructure, while fostering employee collaboration, local media organizations can leverage technology to build a strong foundation for future growth.

New technology brings down costs and boosts innovation


The media landscape continues to shift with social media’s impact on audiences constantly growing and online video becoming increasingly important, particularly from an advertising revenue perspective. Improving the underlying technological infrastructure of a local media organization’s platforms can bring significant benefits in these areas, helping to support innovation and increase collaboration. They also provide the capabilities necessary for expanding video and multimedia content.

Migrating to a cloud-based network solution can help to create greater efficiency, while streamlining enterprise resource planning. Consolidating multiple data centers into a single location can also improve systems management and speed.  It’s challenging to keep legacy systems running and up-to-date as new innovations arise.  By moving to a new system or consolidating existing resources, organizations can avoid slowdowns and outages that prevent timely newsgathering and publication.


Better infrastructure, ranging from consolidated or cloud-based data centers to IP-based enterprise networks, allow the use of more advanced technologies while ensuring resources support fast transmission of data and real-time collaboration. Better IT infrastructure also leads to more effective IT management that keeps down costs in the long term.  

The ultimate result of migrating to more effective IT solutions is that bandwidth-intensive applications like video can run better on these systems, providing a competitive advantage. Video is a vital and growing area for all media organizations, including those that are native to the web and those that broadcast and create print products. Having well-functioning content management systems and supporting IT infrastructure ensures that video content can be quickly uploaded and made available to users. In order to stay both relevant and competitive, local media organizations must also expand their mobile and social media output to reach consumers on their devices. Building a robust IT operation is vital to achieving this.

Better technology infrastructure improves collaboration


One thing that has always remained the same over the years is that the speed and effectiveness of content production is key to success in the media industry. Nevertheless, many organizations run on legacy systems that hamstring their ability to create and publish content quickly. If employees find collaboration to be difficult, they will do it less.


For breaking news stories,systems that enable effective collaboration can help organizations break stories before their competitors. A system that allows correspondents or field reporters to both file their stories and look at what their colleagues have contributed, all while editors monitor the piece in real time, can significantly reduce the time it takes to bring the content to consumers.

The underlying infrastructure comes into play here as well. If your employees cannot effectively access your network from any location, it restricts the scope and timeliness of your newsgathering. Increased IT capability also translates into the ability to develop next generation content, such as interactive features and immersive experiences, like 360-degree “augmented reality” video. These will help to attract younger audiences while distinguishing an organization from competitors. A robust IT network helps accelerate this type of creativity and innovation.

Systems that seamlessly integrate web and print content can be especially important for newspapers and magazines. For TV stations, bridging the gap between video transmissions and online video content is essential. Many stations are moving from baseband networks to IP-centric models that integrate seamlessly with web streaming. Not only does this allow feeds from the station to be made available on their website with limited labor, but it increases the station’s overall versatility with video and improves news presentation. With advanced technological add-ons, reporters can broadcast breaking news with just a phone and network connection.

An IP-centric model also provides increased opportunities on mobile platforms. In order to take advantage of social media, organization’s IT infrastructure must support interoperability between content management systems and social media. Organization must have the systems in place to handle this new technology. Just as switching to an IP-based network can allow use of more advanced cloud solutions, streamlining your entire IT operation can lay a foundation for any potential future advances.

Adopting new technology is essential


In a 24/7 media environment in which digital content is the key growth area, the benefits of streamlined infrastructure can save time in workflows, coordination between teams, and the posting of new content. It also allows for better engagement with consumers, especially for print publications. Providing readers and viewers a better experience can help media organizations hold onto their existing audience, while building their digital footprint. The latest technologies can also help online-only outlets distinguish themselves, while keeping costs in check. Overall, investing in technological innovation helps organizations move forward from a position of strength and get a critical edge over their competitors.


Transitioning away from outdated ways of doing things is key for media organizations to find continued success. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Overcome hesitation and resistance to technological change using the steps outlined in our our free eBook.

EBook Overcoming Resistance to Technological Change in a Legacy Media Environment

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