Media organizations face pressure to produce more content for more platforms without adding infrastructure every time demand grows. Many are being pushed toward the cloud before they know whether it fits their operation. Alpha, the Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based, technology integration and solutions, is responding with a new Media Modernization practice and The Lab, a hands-on environment where customers can test workflows before committing to them.
Key Things to Know
- Alpha launched a Media Modernization practice and The Lab at its Eden Prairie headquarters.
- Customers can run proofs of concept, validate interoperability and test integrations before deploying.
- Alpha’s approach covers on-premises, hybrid and cloud models.
- The company brings more than 30 years of broadcast and production integration experience to the practice.
What Did Alpha Announce?
Alpha announced the launch of its Media Modernization practice and The Lab, a customer-facing environment for exploring, testing and validating the next generation of media operations. The initiative extends the company’s broadcast and production work into IP, software-defined infrastructure, hybrid and cloud architectures, automation, AI and distributed production.
Those technologies are changing how media gets made and moved. Alpha’s new practice is built to help organizations sort through them.
How Does Alpha Define Media Modernization?
Alpha defines Media Modernization as the strategic evolution of the infrastructure, workflows, technology and operating models organizations use to create, manage, produce and distribute media. The practice focuses on three areas: content operations, production and content distribution.
That scope covers how media is ingested, managed, stored, accessed, produced, protected and moved across broadcast, streaming, digital and emerging distribution channels. In each area, Alpha starts with business and operational requirements, not a predetermined technology platform.
Does Media Modernization Mean Moving Everything to the Cloud?
Media Modernization doesn’t mean moving everything to the cloud. Alpha helps organizations choose the operating model that best supports their business, production and content goals, whether that’s on-premises, hybrid, cloud-based or a mix.
That distinction matters for integrators and their clients. A cloud-first mandate can strand working equipment and disrupt operations that already perform well.
Jeff Volk, EVP of strategic accounts, sports and live events at Alpha, points to placement decisions as the real challenge.
“Media organizations are under tremendous pressure to create more content, support more platforms and make better use of their people and technology without simply adding infrastructure every time demand increases,” Volk says. “The opportunity is to rethink how media operations should work. Alpha helps customers understand what belongs where, why it belongs there and how to modernize without disrupting the operation they depend on today.”
What Is The Lab at Alpha?
The Lab is a working environment at Alpha’s Eden Prairie headquarters where customers, partners and Alpha engineers can test modernization plans against real-world requirements. It moves conversations past slide decks and architecture diagrams.
Organizations can explore emerging technologies, run workflows, conduct proofs of concept, validate interoperability, test integrations and evaluate operating models. All of that happens before they make significant technology commitments.
Why Did Alpha Build The Lab?
Alpha built The Lab so customers can base major technology decisions on evidence, not theory. Luke Potter, cloud solutions manager at Alpha, describes the goal as replacing assumptions with hands-on proof.
“The Lab is about turning possibility into evidence,” Potter says. “Customers should not have to make major technology decisions based solely on presentations or theoretical architecture. We want them to experience the workflow, test assumptions and build confidence before they deploy it.”
The practical payoff is lower risk. Problems found in a lab cost far less than problems found after go-live.
What Can Organizations Do in The Lab?
Organizations can use The Lab for customer demonstrations, proofs of concept, workflow design, engineering validation, solution testing, partner integrations, training and remote demonstrations. Alpha plans to add managed services demonstrations and ongoing customer enablement later.
Interoperability testing stands out for integrators. Broadcast gear, IT infrastructure and cloud tools rarely come from a single vendor, and Ian Cobb, senior IT architect at Alpha, identifies that mix as the core use case.
“The Lab gives customers a practical way to validate how broadcast systems, IT infrastructure and cloud-based tools work together before they deploy,” he says.
How Does Alpha’s Broadcast Background Shape the Practice?
Alpha’s more than 30 years of designing and integrating broadcast and production environments form the foundation of the new practice. The company is combining broadcast engineering, workflow design, IT infrastructure and cloud expertise under one roof.
That combination reflects where production is heading. As workflows become software-defined and resources spread across facilities and data centers, no single discipline covers the full system.
CEO Kevin Groves stresses that modernization should protect what already works.
“Modernization does not mean starting over,” Groves says. “Our customers have significant investments in technology, workflows and people that work today. Our job is to help them determine what should stay, what should evolve and where new capabilities can create meaningful business and operational value.”
Who Is The Lab Designed For?
The Lab is designed for organizations in broadcast, sports and live events, corporate media and other environments where professional content creation, production and distribution are growing in importance. Corporate media is the notable entry for integrators.
Enterprise clients increasingly run studios, streaming operations and live production. Those projects now look a lot like broadcast work, and they carry the same interoperability risks.
How Can Organizations Schedule a Session?
Customers and partners can schedule an on-site or remote session with Alpha to explore a specific workflow, evaluate emerging technologies, run a proof of concept or start a Media Modernization roadmap.
Details on the practice are available at alphax.us/solutions/media-modernization/, and sessions in The Lab can be booked at alphax.us/the-lab/.
