Just a few years ago, when asking me about film accounting solutions for the entertainment industry in the cloud, most executives expressed concerns about security. In fact, IBM confirmed in 2010 that security was the primary reason given for not implementing cloud solutions. Previous investments in infrastructure and stress about integrations were also listed as concerns.
Entertainment revolutionized by the cloud
These days, it’s rare to see an entertainment industry company who is not in the cloud. Security concerns have been reduced, though the high-profile data losses at Sony Pictures and Yahoo have caused some to question cloud security again.
IT executives are providing assurance to managers and boards that cloud technology wasn’t exclusively to blame in these attacks. They emphasize the point that protecting sensitive information in the cloud is no different from protecting data on company-owned servers. Encryption and monitoring--as well as employees who understand the proper security techniques—are required.
The entertainment industry has largely used the cloud to enable on-demand and streaming content to customers around the world. The most visible examples are, of course, streaming video from companies like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and Apple iTunes. Netflix doesn’t own a single data center yet they stream 150 million hours of shows and movies to 86 million customers in 190 countries every day--all through the cloud. Other content producers, such as national newspapers The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, many regional newspapers, and a large and growing number of magazines, sell subscription access to their publications using the cloud to consumers all over the world.
Entertainment industry accounting and backend systems transformed in the cloud
The entertainment industry has also embraced the cloud for their ERP and accounting systems in addition to content delivery. The cloud makes it easy to provide Software as a Service (SaaS) accounting solutions that can be accessed by users from any location in the world with any device. The software is always up to date and the system grows as you do, without having to worry about upgrading company-owned servers and software.
The advantages of a cloud ERP is demonstrated by the fast-growing Legendary Entertainment who migrated its accounting operations to the Sage Intacct cloud-based solution. Legendary has been experiencing tremendous growth and required a cloud-based ERP to keep up with its complex intercompany and international operations. Sage Intacct supports multiple currencies effortlessly and makes global consolidations easy.
Another key benefit for Legendary is the easy-to-use financial report writer. The company previously used Excel as a reporting tool but as the company grew, it became difficult and time-consuming to keep reports accurate and up to date. Now the management team has real-time financial reporting available from any device anywhere in the world where an internet connection can be made. Reports can easily be customized for each business unit using drop-down lists enabling users to filter, group, and organize the data by dimensions without involving IT.
Legendary Entertainment created competitive advantage by streamlining their film accounting in the cloud, and your company can too. Contact the film accounting experts at RKL eSolutions today to start your transformation story.
Originally posted: http://success.arxistechnology.com/blog/film-accounting-entertainment-industry
