Avoiding Obsolescence with Platform-Agnostic Streaming

Have you ever owned a consumer electronics product that melded several formerly separate products into one? Perhaps you bought an alarm clock + radio + CD player + mobile device docking station, or a coffee grinder + brewer + thermal carafe?

There are three major risks with any of these:

• Maybe only a couple of the components are really any good, while the others are poor and greatly reduce the overall value.
• Despite combining several products in one, such devices often don’t provide fine-grained control over individual functions.
• One of the components could fail or become technically obsolete, leaving you with
  • an irreparable or nonupgradable component,
  • an external hack to replace the missing functionality (if you’re lucky), and
  • an overall hobbled system.

How does this analogy relate to streaming?

Well, if you’ve been involved with streaming for any length of time, you may have found yourself tied to a proprietary technology stack from a single vendor at some point. All might have been fine for a while, until your needs changed or the manufacturer retired some parts of the stack. As with the household electronics mentioned above, you may have found that it made more sense to replace some or all of your streaming workflow components to meet your ongoing needs.

Streaming technology, like any other technology, provides the best value when it is both flexible and future-proof. A key aspect of being flexible is using whatever streaming workflow components you choose. That's why Wowza technology interoperates with many flavors of encoders, players, content security, and delivery networks, as well as underlying technologies such as storage, operating systems, and cloud platforms. That interoperability also stretches across streaming formats, ensuring any-screen reach. Another facet of flexibility is control, with numerous depth and breadth options for fine-tuning a streaming workflow, from responsive-web GUIs to developer APIs.

Being future-proof is all about having a streaming workflow that adapts to evolving standards and market requirements, anticipating what you're going to need next and being ready when—or before—you are. This is a bedrock principle at Wowza. We’re not perfect at it, of course, but we try. As users of our products can attest, we're continually offering new and improved functionality for anyone who wants to use it, without ever forcing your hand.

What's the bottom line?

Wowza customers aren't locked into a static technology stack with short-term obsolescence. Rather, they can put together efficient workflows that best meet their needs using combinations of the gear they already own, Wowza streaming technologies, and other best-of-breed products. After all, streaming, like your morning coffee fix, is serious business.

Happy streaming!