A few years ago--ancient history in internet terms--executives in film accounting in the entertainment industry regularly asked me about the cloud, quite often they expressed concerns about cloud security. And IBM confirmed my perception when they noted that media and entertainment companies were slow to adopt the cloud. In 2010 IBM reported that security was the main reason for not adopting cloud computing. Other concerns included existing infrastructure investments and integration worries.
Fast forward seven years and it is difficult to find an entertainment industry company who is not in the cloud. Security concerns have been eased, though the recent high-profile data losses at Sony Pictures and Yahoo (amongst others) have caused some to question cloud security yet again.
IT executives are providing assurance to managers and boards that cloud technology was never exclusively to blame in any of these attacks. They are emphasizing the point that protecting sensitive information in the cloud is no different from protecting data on company-owned servers. You must have encryption and monitoring--as well as employees who understand the proper security techniques.
The entertainment industry’s primary use of the cloud is to push 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 center yet they stream 150 million hours of shows and movies to 86 million customers in 190 countries every day--all through the cloud. Then there are national newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, many regional newspapers, and a large and growing number of magazines selling worldwide subscription access to their publications using the cloud.
Entertainment industry accounting and backend systems in the cloud
In addition to providing content in the cloud, the entertainment industry has embraced the cloud for their ERP and accounting systems. 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 Intacct cloud-based solution. Legendary is experiencing tremendous growth and needs a cloud based ERP to keep up with its complex intercompany and international operations. 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.
Improve the competitive advantage of your entertainment company and consider a cloud-based solution. Work with a trusted and proven entertainment-industry expert like RKL to ensure that you successfully implement the right solution for your needs.