As the complexities of managing content across multiple distribution channels mount, content distributors could minimize their operational headaches if they could find a way to implement more streamlined approaches to end-to-end management of their assets.

Nobody understands this better than Jonathan Bartholomew, a new vice president and principal with TMNG Global at the firm’s London office. With many years of experience as an operations expert in the fast-paced new media marketplace, Bartholomew also understands that revamping the way things are done in the midst of trying to keep up with day-to-day operations requirements is a monumental undertaking that requires outside assistance of a special kind.

As a professional with over 15 years of hands-on experience in developing and implementing e-commerce, digital media and hosted application solutions for service providers, Bartholomew exemplifies the level of expertise TMNG brings to the operational challenges in content distribution. For example, he has directed product teams tied to Verizon Business’ Digital Media Technologies group, a new pre-paid offering at Verizon Wireless, PSINet’s managed hosting product portfolio and the Apptix SOA (software-as-a-service) offerings.

“The recurring theme I see at content owners, content aggregators, broadcasters and network service providers, is everyone is trying to manage a growing reservoir of content coming in from multiple partners for distribution over an expanding range of channels – mobile, web, IPTV, VOD, cable headends – you name it,” Bartholomew says.

Content archives and other data repositories, currently scattered across myriad locations now have to be integrated if operators and content providers hope to achieve efficiencies.

“There are DAMS (Digital Asset Management Systems) for production, archive, and often multiple others spread throughout the organization, all using different data file management systems,” he says. “Integrating these content repositories is essential if content owners and aggregators want to leverage the long-tail business – where there has been an explosion in the volume of content that is now considered valuable for distribution to these emerging channels.”

All this involves managing a lot of difficult software packages, technical platforms and handoffs from one system to another within the organization and across the value chain, he continues. “That’s why work flow automation tools are so valuable. You need to be able to orchestrate those handoffs to the point where everything is operating seamlessly and with as little human intervention as possible.”

The market transformation has happened so fast, companies haven’t been able to stop and consider where it all leads and what the appropriate operational framework should be for operating in this new environment, he notes. “People have had to keep up with changing market conditions by leveraging legacy management systems within various distribution silos – one for mobile, one for the Web, one for TV, etc.,” he says. “All these distinct technology solutions are particular to the channels, complicating end-to-end content management to the point where the operations requirements have become a drain on manpower resources and, ultimately, the bottom line. This is completely, absolutely untenable for keeping pace in this market over the long haul.”

Clearly, the time has come for content distributors to reconstitute their operational systems to reflect the radical changes in the market environment. But they need help from experts who are well versed in building highly integrated operations frameworks and transforming organizations from legacy foundations. “Given TMNG’s long history helping entities of every description with back-office integration and rationalization of processes and systems, we are uniquely suited to provide the expertise content distributors need to streamline their approaches to asset management and content distribution without disrupting day-to-day operations,” Bartholomew says.

All the players in the distribution market, whether they’re positioned as TV programmers, broadcasters, Web portals, wireline providers, ISPs, MSOs or mobile operators, need to embrace workflow automation as a tool to address all the management issues on the intake and output sides of the distribution process and all steps in between. The need for integration and automation extends to management of archives; creation and normalization of metadata; implementation of automated tracking and accounting processes accommodating both third-party and end-user relationships; the setting of digital rights policies, and on-the-fly formatting of content to suit the compression and resolution requirements of end-user devices.

“If you look at just the on-ramp side, where content distributors are receiving content from their sources, you can see how difficult it is now for most of them,” Bartholomew says. “Each content provider is supplying content in any one of a variety of native formats with various metadata organized under different meta schemas.”

 During ingest, all this different metadata must be normalized to a single schema and content must be trans-coded to a common format of record for storage and for purposes of creating a uniform content repository.  More fundamentally, automating content ingest into the aggregated content management system requires creation of a meta schema of record that determines the management interfaces and controls over the archived assets, quality parameters for archived content, and interfaces with back-office systems and much else.

Achieving operational integration and automation on this scale starts with creation of a project strategy that maps out, step-by-step, precisely how the transformation will be achieved. “TMNG will help the client set up a project management office (PMO), which is a framework through which the TMNG team of experts can work with the relevant operations groups in the client company, both at the headquarters and regional levels,” Bartholomew says. “Once the PMO structure is determined, we then can work closely with client managers to thoroughly assess their needs and devise a game plan that lays out all the phases of execution on fulfilling those needs.”

This framework supports a hands-on approach to helping clients that goes well beyond traditional consulting roles, where various aspects of a client’s needs are addressed on a project-by-project basis with fairly short-term turnarounds. By setting up the PMO arrangement with TMNG, the client can manage a series of projects in an integrated manner, not just as individual projects. In this format, TMNG establishes a close working relationship that lasts over time, and allows the TMNG team to gain an intimate understanding of the organizational culture, systems, and processes needed to successfully manage large scale transformations. “We will help the customer define and document existing work flows, then define and document the desired work flows and help define the requirements to achieve those goals,” Bartholomew says.

“We will help create the metrics that will be used to measure performance across all functional areas and make sure the anticipated return on investment is being achieved.

“We establish the RFI/RFP (request for information/proposal) process with vendors to select the correct solutions,” he continues. “Our TMNG Lexicon™ tool is used in systems evaluation and will take the guesswork and inconsistencies out of choosing vendors.”

Once solutions are chosen, the team will assist the client in the management of the integration of the new software into the existing environment, he notes. “And along the way we’re making sure the communications lines are open across operational groups up and down the chain of command so that everyone is contributing to and understanding what is going on,” he adds.

The challenges to the creation of a truly efficient content management and content distribution system are formidable. “When you look at the depth and breadth of the value chain, systems integration is an absolute beast,” Bartholomew says. “You have to encompass work flow automation, digital asset management, DRM, and transcoding and distribution engines, etc. There’s so much integration end to end to get everything to flow smoothly, it’s rare that you will find an organization that has the manpower and know-how to do all of this on its own.”

With its track record of success in applying the PMO model with leading service providers worldwide to achieve systems integration across service silos of every description, TMNG can provide content distributors the expertise and tools they need to take the pain out of operating in today’s media marketplace. The addition of Jonathan Bartholomew to its senior management team in London underscores TMNG’s commitment to providing the content community the highest level of professional support in these efforts.