Synamedia has joined a growing group of video software/platform players to strike a partnership with Google Cloud as it seeks to plug new customers into Synamedia's "as-a-service" model for OTT video services and to help existing ones transition part or all of their operations to the cloud.

One of the big, early use cases tied to this move is to enable new and existing customers to deliver live video services at latency levels that match up with the feeds of traditional broadcast TV services. While that comes in handy for live sports (when they return to the mix post-pandemic, of course), that will also ensure that live feeds delivered across smartphones, PCs, tablets and other mobile devices sync up with what's delivered to TVs.

Synamedia, which is using the Google Kubernetes Engine for containerized apps as part of its partnership with Google Cloud, estimates that it is targeting latency times (from content ingest to delivery on an OTT device) in the range of five to seven seconds, roughly on par with traditional broadcast TV.

Customers are also looking to the cloud to help with other aspects of service, including disaster recovery and perhaps replacing or transitioning away from satellite-based infrastructures to cloud-powered scenarios that aim to beef up scalability while also reducing operational costs and overall complexity, explained Sabine Bravo, VP of business development at Synamedia.

Bravo said Synamedia already has proof-of-concept work underway pertaining to the low-latency aspect of the new cloud-based, as-a-service model with some existing tier 1 telco and media broadcaster partners.

While the vast majority of Synamedia's legacy customers use on-premises platforms for video service, some are already running in a hybrid mode whereby some apps and capabilities, such as DVR recording and playback, have been moved to the cloud.

Synamedia's partnership with Google Cloud isn't exclusive, as it can also run its software and services on AWS and Microsoft Azure. But the partnership with Google Cloud gives Synamedia the ability to resolve some of the architecture challenges associated with moving customers and key parts of its services platform to a cloud-based, as-a-service model.

"It's easier to do that with one than with all," Bravo said, adding that Synamedia also intends to accomplish this level of integration across other clouds as well.

MediaKind, a Synamedia competitor, announced a similar partnership with Google Cloud earlier this month.

Synamedia was formed in late 2018 via the acquisition of Cisco Systems's video software unit by Permira Funds.

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— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading