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Build High-Performing, Secure Media Applications by Harnessing the Power of Cloud App Development and Platform Engineering

Dave Morrissey Thumbnail
Dave Morrissey
Published November 21, 2023

To capture consumer attention and promote brand reputation, media and entertainment companies are harnessing the scale and security of cloud applications and services. Content producers of all sizes can tap into the power of the cloud to store and distribute media more efficiently and cost effectively, while developing applications that optimize revenue for other key business initiatives.

But with this increased power comes increased complexity—especially as developers and product teams work to optimize application delivery within complicated, modern software architectures.

Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80% of software engineering organizations will establish platform engineering teams to streamline application development.1 Platform engineers build and maintain self-service tools to automate common developmental workflows and expedite processes to spin up infrastructure and environments. Platform engineering can empower media companies to build engaging and secure applications to entertain customers across a variety of experiences.

Here are three ways platform engineering teams can generate business value for media and entertainment companies.

Improve Streaming Performance

Major media companies spent over $50 billion on content creation in 2022, primarily for their streaming platforms.2 With some streaming platforms accounting for significant shares of global downstream traffic in 2022,3 exceptional application performance that delivers no latency, high-definition video is crucial for these companies to realize an ROI. Platform engineering can enforce mandatory usage of security protocols that protect platform content delivery networks from a host of performance threats, including account takeovers and denial-of-service attacks.

Safeguard Customer Data

With both of the top two streaming platforms exceeding 100 million subscribers4 and people apt to share their user credentials with family and friends, streaming services are ripe targets for malicious actors. Platform engineering can construct easy-to-consume workflows for developers to outfit streaming applications with robust anti-fraud bot measures. Workflows that apply artificial intelligence and machine learning to counteract bot retooling can effectively secure customers’ personal and financial information.

Enhance Amusement Park Experiences

To diversify revenue streams and capitalize on popular intellectual property, many large media corporations operate theme and amusement parks. To encourage attendee engagement, many park proprietors offer sophisticated applications that provide detailed maps, ride reservations, real-time attraction attendance, and more. These applications are a boon for the bottom line as guests not standing in line have more time to shop for concessions and souvenirs. Platform engineers can erect developmental guardrails—a set of coding boundaries that determine which features, services, and code can or can’t be used—so park applications can integrate information from various sources to deliver accurate real-time estimates for ride waits and current capacities.

Deliver Exceptional and Secure Media Experiences with F5 and AWS

Platform engineering teams can use F5 solutions to optimize the performance and security of AWS cloud services, enabling media and entertainment companies to delight customers with engaging experiences. F5 solutions that help media companies include:

  • F5 Managed Rules for AWS WAF, which protects streaming applications using Amazon CloudFront against bots and exploits that consume resources and cause downtime.
  • F5 Distributed Cloud Bot Defense, which thwarts fraud-perpetuating bots that target sensitive customer information.
  • F5 NGINX, a suite of commercial products that deliver enterprise capabilities to NGINX Open Source, which enables the seamless integration of AWS environments to boost the performance and accuracy of amusement park experience applications.

F5 solutions enable platform engineers to help facilitate the development of AWS applications and cloud services that enhance the performance, security, and customer experience of a host of media and entertainment ventures. With AWS-validated competencies in Security, MSSP Level-1, Container, and Networking, F5 solutions optimize cloud-native performance and security so customers can reliably and seamlessly engage with content-rich media.

Available in the AWS Marketplace, the industry-leading security and performance solutions from F5 are simple to procure, install, and manage, producing a fast time-to-value for an industry predicated on capturing people’s attention.