Technology fueling the OTT growth

Tata Elxsi has been extensively working with the latest technology innovations from telecom and mobile communication, Internet of Things (IoT), Information Technology (IT) and security, broadcast and digital media, mobile devices and accessories, as well as emerging technologies and enterprise solutions

Tata Elxsi also has it’s OTT platform called TEPlay which includes pre-integrated components required by an OTT service such as Content Management System (CMS), Subscription Management System (SMS), DRM, UI Composer, OTT Middleware, Ad Platform, Content Discovery Platform, Usage Analytics and White-labeled Apps.

How is technology playing the key role here? Sarvanraja Kalidas Nadar, OTT Practice Head at Tata Elxsi shares his views:

How have your services helped the partners improve their engagement?

The OTT market is witnessing a change in terms of how users are consuming and interacting with content. Content will always be one of the key factors driving engagement. It will be important for operators to gain complete insight into content and consumers and create the perfect viewer journey by offering personalized experience. TEPlay has an inbuilt persona based Dynamic UI composer for enhancing user experience and faster content discovery through the editorial page (Tom Cruise movies, FIFA 2018, GOT etc.)

TEPlay is designed with the principle of bringing business value to our customers, which involves driving subscriber engagement through AI powered user segmentation to target personalized content. It enables data driven decision-making investments resulting in increasing customer stickiness.

How capable is your OTT platform for embracing future technologies?

5G promises new, exciting possibilities for all kinds of media services that can be delivered over mobile networks, such as virtual-reality experiences, multiplayer video-game streaming, and high-definition live broadcasting of big events, sports and e-sports. 5G brings in Mobile Edge computing technology that enables delivery of immersive live content experiences. TEPlay is designed to accommodate hybrid approach to Mobile Edge computing wherein we enable Mobile Edge services to regions with 5G deployments and standard service to other regions with core being the same.

What is the technological scope for service delivery?

TEPlay is an all-in-one platform, future proof with mobile edge computing and fully integrated technological building blocks for the next generation OTT platform. It consists of pre integrated OTT Backend components (CMS, SMS, OTT Middleware, Engagement & Usage Analytics, Content Discovery, Ad Tech Solutions ) combined with world class UI/UX design & application development to enable our customers deliver delighted experiences and business growth. TEPlay services ranging from Technical Ops to support & maintenance can be offered as a complete managed services model to potential customers.

What are Tata Elxsi’s views on the surge in viewership on OTT platforms in the current scenario and the change in the viewership pattern?

In the first quarter of 2020, Netflix added a staggering 15.8 million paid subscribers as a locked-down audience turned to the platform in the absence of other entertainment options.

Data from Roy Morgan shows Disney+ continuing its stellar growth with over 2 million Australians now using the SVoD service after only launching in the country four months ago. As a comparison, it took market leader Netflix six months from launching in Australia in March 2015 to attract over 2 million viewers. Due to the ongoing COVID scenario, many big production houses are looking forward for an OTT movie release. There are many reports suggesting a huge surge in OTT viewership during COVID. There is a change in the pattern of users’ content consumption; they have started searching for content in line with their tastes by looking for more regional & original content. Binge watching has become the new normal. We believe many of these behavioural changes will continue to prevail going forward. This also means that an operator needs to find innovative ways to cater to these new user behaviours/patterns.

How is Tata Elxsi’s OTT platform helping operators in the current scenario?

Our platform enables operators to target personalised content to its subscribers, making content discovery an intuitive experience. AI/ML engine powers the UI/UX personalizing content for users. Through the power in built analytics engine, we are able to help the operator to prioritize and take informed business decisions such as investing in right content, bundling services, spot discounts & offers. At the same time, ensuring consistent performance at large scale by designing the platform with latest technologies. We also offer Managed Services, to aid operators to focus on business growth, while we effortlessly handle day-to-day operations.