LAS VEGAS – At CES this week, Cisco is showing how pay-TV operators, content providers and media companies can lower costs and drive revenue from new services, by transforming their video operations with cloud technology and software-based video functions.

Growth in online video and the increasing availability of higher-resolution content is requiring video operators to transport higher volumes of data and content through their networks.

Cisco VNI forecasts that by 2019, 80 percent of IP traffic will be video. 42 percent of IP traffic will be viewed across mobile devices, and 68 percent will be a mix of high-definition and 4K/ultra-high-definition video.

Cisco Virtualized Video Processing (V2P) provides an open platform to simply manage software-based functions formerly handled by hardware. This helps video providers speed time to revenue, simplify operations and reduce costs.

At CES, Cisco is unveiling two new solutions for the platform. By blending cloud hardware with open-source software and industry standards, service providers can further reduce the costs and complexities of operating content delivery network (CDN) and video storage systems.

“Cisco’s V2P is the only platform today that virtualizes these core video headend functions in the cloud,” said Conrad Clemson, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco Service Provider Video Software and Solutions. “V2P leverages open-source software to deliver valuable consumer video services faster, with the ability to flexibly accommodate 3rd party solutions.”

Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO)