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Tag: Ramki Sankaranarayanan

  • Prime Focus Technologies appoints Raghunath Mohanrao as COO; replaces Ganesh Sankaran

    Prime Focus Technologies appoints Raghunath Mohanrao as COO; replaces Ganesh Sankaran

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies has appointed IT veteran Raghunath Mohanrao as its new chief operating officer. Mohanrao will replace PFT co-founder and former COO Ganesh Sankaran.

    Mohanroa joins PFT with an eye toward furthering PFT’s growth within the global media and entertainment markets. Sankaran is taking a sabbatical for 15 months to pursue an MBA, while remaining on the PFT Board of Directors.

    “I’ve wanted to go back to school for my MBA for some time now, and with PFT in such a strong position, I know this is the right time. I’ve known Raghu for well over 18 years and am confident he is the right fit for PFT. I look forward to his leadership to take PFT to the next level of its growth journey,” said Sankiaran.

    “Ganesh is taking a well-deserved break from the hot pursuit of building PFT from its inception in a garage to where it is now. Raghu is an accomplished technology leader in the media and entertainment space and his background and skills offer the best fit for what PFT requires as it charters the next level of innovation, delivery excellence and growth,” added Prime Focus Technologies founder and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan.

    “PFT’s breadth of technology offerings and opportunity for transforming media and entertainment companies are two of the many reasons for my interest and excitement as I take over the position of COO. I look forward to bolstering the unwavering customer and people focus, delivery excellence and innovation at PFT,” added Mohanrao.

    Mohanrao will join Ramki and the PFT executive team at the annual NAB Show, a key event for both PFT and the media and entertainment industry as a whole. Initially, he has worked as the telecom, media and entertainment industry leader at IBM, managing IBM’s globally integrated capabilities.

    He also focused on worldwide growth strategy as vertical delivery head at Wipro Technologies, responsible for services delivery including profit and loss for telecommunications and worldwide media and entertainment businesses in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. 

  • Prime Focus Technologies appoints Raghunath Mohanrao as COO; replaces Ganesh Sankaran

    Prime Focus Technologies appoints Raghunath Mohanrao as COO; replaces Ganesh Sankaran

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies has appointed IT veteran Raghunath Mohanrao as its new chief operating officer. Mohanrao will replace PFT co-founder and former COO Ganesh Sankaran.

    Mohanroa joins PFT with an eye toward furthering PFT’s growth within the global media and entertainment markets. Sankaran is taking a sabbatical for 15 months to pursue an MBA, while remaining on the PFT Board of Directors.

    “I’ve wanted to go back to school for my MBA for some time now, and with PFT in such a strong position, I know this is the right time. I’ve known Raghu for well over 18 years and am confident he is the right fit for PFT. I look forward to his leadership to take PFT to the next level of its growth journey,” said Sankiaran.

    “Ganesh is taking a well-deserved break from the hot pursuit of building PFT from its inception in a garage to where it is now. Raghu is an accomplished technology leader in the media and entertainment space and his background and skills offer the best fit for what PFT requires as it charters the next level of innovation, delivery excellence and growth,” added Prime Focus Technologies founder and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan.

    “PFT’s breadth of technology offerings and opportunity for transforming media and entertainment companies are two of the many reasons for my interest and excitement as I take over the position of COO. I look forward to bolstering the unwavering customer and people focus, delivery excellence and innovation at PFT,” added Mohanrao.

    Mohanrao will join Ramki and the PFT executive team at the annual NAB Show, a key event for both PFT and the media and entertainment industry as a whole. Initially, he has worked as the telecom, media and entertainment industry leader at IBM, managing IBM’s globally integrated capabilities.

    He also focused on worldwide growth strategy as vertical delivery head at Wipro Technologies, responsible for services delivery including profit and loss for telecommunications and worldwide media and entertainment businesses in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. 

  • Prime Focus Technologies launches secure screener application for movie studios

    Prime Focus Technologies launches secure screener application for movie studios

    MUMBAI: With awards season around the corner and multiple screeners currently in circulation, Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) will be offering SecureScreener as the industry’s first digital, contemporary and safe screener application.

     

    SecureScreener, a superior substitute to DVD and online channel distribution, is part of Clear, the world’s first and most proven hybrid cloud-enabled Media ERP Suite that virtualises the content supply chain.

     

    SecureScreener provides entertainment companies with a robust alternative to the logistical hassle of shipping DVD screeners, as well as peace of mind that screener content is always secure. The application offers access to content anytime, anywhere, while also providing instant feedback including exactly who has viewed, shared and downloaded watermarked content with the option to further customise with expiration and access settings. Recipients even have the option to view the content offline.

     

    Through Clear’s unbreakable Secure Player, SecureScreener delivers a safe, high-quality viewing experience on a variety of platforms, ensuring a seamless end-to-end experience.The Secure Screener is also available as an iPad app.

     

    The cloud-based application also addresses the financial commitments made by studios by eliminating recurring costs that has no productive use. In fact, it is estimated that for every $20 of direct cost spent on physical screeners, $80 more are lost in indirect costs. SecureScreener provides a solution to this monetary drain, reducing the overall cost of screener distribution.

     

    “As studios continue to grapple with the challenges of security in the digital age, SecureScreener stands alone as the safe, cloud-based solution to piracy threats, providing peace of mind that content is secure. In addition to the threat of piracy, there’s a large financial commitment made each year to screeners, both direct and indirect. SecureScreener reduces costs, while also providing studios with more control over their content than ever before,” said Prime Focus Technologies founder and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan. 

     

    SecureScreener is one of five Clear modules addressing specific business challenges to help broadcasters, studios, brands, sports and digital businesses drive creative enablement, enhance ecosystem efficiencies and sustainability, reduce cost and realise new monetisation opportunities. SecureScreener is available as a standalone business solution or bundled together as a Cloud Media ERP Suite with: Cloud MAM, Operations Cloud, Broadcast Cloud and Production Cloud.

  • Prime Focus Technologies equips Europe for Digital Next realities at IBC 2015

    Prime Focus Technologies equips Europe for Digital Next realities at IBC 2015

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) is addressing the challenges faced by the media and entertainment industry to meet the demands of the digital consumer at IBC 2015. 

     

    Focusing on ‘Digital Next’ realities, PFT is offering solutions for broadcasters, studios, production houses and networks that will help virtualise the content supply chain and build a connected enterprise. 

     

    Clear Media ERP Suite: Enterprise software for virtualising the content supply chain: Building a connected and digital ecosystem is key to managing the business of content. With cycle times being reduced from 30 days to 30 minutes, and higher speed and content volume demands, businesses need to be agile in the digital era. To do this, margin-pressed film studios and broadcasters need to shift focus towards flexible, modular, cost effective and collaborative enterprise software to improve operational efficiencies. 

     

    PFT’s Clear Media ERP Suite, on display at IBC 2015, brings content to the center of the business and has helped content enterprises cut 30 per cent of operational costs and gain 40 per cent more efficiencies. The CLEAR Media ERP Suite is rich in applications that allow for workflow orchestration across enterprise, supply chain and partner ecosystems. In virtualising these processes, PFT has helped content providers drive creative enablement, enhance efficiencies, lower the total cost of ownership and discover new monetization opportunities. 

     

    Clear Operations Cloud, also on display at IBC 2015, is industry’s first ever end-to-end content operations on cloud for multi-platform distribution. With 800 million iTunes users, 60 million subscribers on Netflix, six billion hours of video watched per month on YouTube, and with 19 per cent of US millennials using Amazon Prime, content providers are in a mad race to get content to digital platforms faster and cheaper. They need to do that with not only the lowest total cost of delivery but enable it to be more discoverable for the consumers quickly. PFT’s Clear Operations Cloud helps do just that – not just store and transcode, but perform end-to-end content operations on the cloud.  Powered by transcoders including Elemental, Rhozet, AmberFin, Digital Rapids and more, PFT’s Operations Cloud is a unique infrastructure that offers content enterprises the ability to choose the transcoder that suit them best, while utilising PFT’s custom workflow orchestration to package and deliver.

     

    PFT’s Clear Operations Cloud also provides 4K support, including a 4K up-conversion module, by leveraging the Academy Award winning Lowry image processing libraries. This is supported by GPU Cloud Computing infrastructure.

     

    “Media and Entertainment companies cannot have islands of automation anymore. If they need to battle low margins and build operational efficiencies, they need to digitally transform to build a connected enterprise. They need to become hyper digital to cater to the hyper digital consumer. That’s the digital next reality,” said Prime Focus Technologies founder and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan. 

  • Prime Focus Technologies secures SoC2 certification

    Prime Focus Technologies secures SoC2 certification

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the technology arm of Prime Focus, has secured a Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 certification and expanded upon its ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS).

     

    These certifications assure clients that PFT meets some of the highest standards for security, availability, confidentiality and processing integrity controls in the Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry.

     

    PFT is the first M&E industry-focused cloud-based provider to receive a SOC 2 certification. The SOC 2 certification process is based on standards set forth by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), which recently updated the Trust Service Principles and Criteria (TSP) used in granting a SOC 2 certification to better align with current security concerns worldwide. To secure a SOC 2 certification, PFT underwent a meticulous audit to measure and report on the design and operating effectiveness of its controls.

     

    In addition, PFT expanded up its ISO 27001 certification, one of the most widely recognized, internationally accepted, independent security standards. This certification applies to all PFT locations and solutions including its hybrid cloud technology, content processes and data centers serving its CLEAR Media ERP Suite and Cloud-enabled Media Services. As one of the first media and entertainment industry-focused cloud technology solutions providers to achieve this certification back in 2014, PFT has focused on continually improving its security credentials, resulting in an expanded certification globally in 2015.

     

    Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP independently conducted PFT’s SOC 2 examination for the period of 1 May, 2014 through 31 January, 2015. The ISO 27001 Certification is issued by the British Standards Institution (BSI), the national standards body of the UK and one of the premier accreditation firms in the world. 

     

    “With more than 1.2 million hours of content under management on cloud, the security and integrity of our systems is incredibly important. Compliance with the SOC 2 standards requires strict internal policies related to our software development, storing and accessing data and security across systems. Our clients know and rely on our security and compliance measures to ensure their content is secure at all times,” said Prime Focus Technologies founder and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan.

     

    PFT’s SOC 2 and ISO 27001 accreditations are reassurance of its capabilities in managing  the business of content for global clients spanning broadcast, studios, brands, sports and digital businesses. In addition to these certifications, PFT is also MPAA audited.

  • Prime Focus Technologies joins MESA advisory board

    Prime Focus Technologies joins MESA advisory board

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies, the technology arm of Prime Focus, is continuing to support media and entertainment (M&E) companies by joining the advisory board of the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA).

     

    Prime Focus Technologies will be working with MESA on its mission to support service providers in building efficiencies in the creation, production and distribution of physical and digital media and entertainment.

     

    “As a prominent Cloud solutions provider in the M&E industry, Prime Focus Technologies is constantly looking for ways to advance the development of supply chain infrastructure, content securities and innovation in the industry. Forums such as MESA are critical to the M&E industry as a whole through advocacy efforts, market research and opportunities to interact with other key members. We are proud to be joining as a member of the advisory board,” said Prime Focus Technologies founder and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan.

     

    MESA’s expansive range of services includes the development and support of special interest groups, events, media and numerous initiatives. Through these pillars, MESA provides support to its members throughout the year in multiple ways while facilitating collaboration and ongoing discussions.

     

    This new partnership comes shortly after the announcement that PFT has signed a deal with HOOQ, a joint venture between Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Entertainment. PFT’s Operations Cloud, part of the CLEAR Media ERP Suite will help package and deliver content on HOOQ. CLEAR Operations Cloud helps M&E companies deal with volume and speed needs to service content demand from the growing number of digital outlets globally.

     

    “Prime Focus Technologies is making great strides in advancing the way media and entertainment companies adjust to the digital consumer and we are thrilled to have them join us. Their presence will be key as conversations about the digital age and developing technologies continue to move forward,” said MESA executive director Guy Finley.    

  • Prime Focus Technologies signs deal with HOOQ

    Prime Focus Technologies signs deal with HOOQ

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), a subsidiary of Prime Focus, has inked a deal with Asian over-the-top (OTT) player HOOQ, which recently launched in the Indian market.

     

    With this, PFT’s CLEAR Operations Cloud will help package and deliver content on HOOQ. 

     

    HOOQ will deliver both Hollywood films and television series, as well as popular local movies and programs to customers anytime, anywhere by enabling them to stream and download the shows on their device or platform of choice. HOOQ, which is the OTT service from Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Entertainment, is being rolled out in Asian markets like India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, from the first quarter of 2015. 

     

    The biggest challenge for any OTT platform is speed of delivery as content exists in different formats, varied quality standards, no subtitles, dubs, edits etc. Piecing this puzzle quickly for consumption requires technology. That’s the advantage of PFT’s CLEAR, Hybrid Cloud-enabled Media ERP Suite. As part of the deal, CLEAR Operations Cloud will manage key workflows including content processing and packaging. The solution initially includes managing over 20,000 hours of Indian and Hollywood content for HOOQ.

     

    “Prime Focus Technologies is thrilled to be a part of a transformative OTT solution in Asia. Consumer behavior is changing rapidly and HOOQ will surely have the first mover advantage in the Asian market. Our ‘Digital Next’ offering, Operations Cloud is uniquely placed to match scale, complexity and disruptive vision of HOOQ to securely present premium global and local content to a billion Asian viewers anytime, anywhere,” said PFT founder and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan.

     

    “Prime Focus Technologies is a known name in innovative Cloud solutions especially in the Asian market. Their experience and technology prowess will add huge value in managing project of this scale and size,” added HOOQ CEO Peter G. Bithos.

  • Prime Focus bags iTunes certification for content delivery

    Prime Focus bags iTunes certification for content delivery

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the technology arm of Prime Focus, has received certification from Apple to deliver movie content and associated assets directly to iTunes.

     

    This recognition comes just after PFT launched ‘Digital Next’ offerings at the 2015 NAB Show, providing cloud-based solutions to help with the immediate challenges faced by the media and entertainment industry to meet the demands of the digital consumer. With this qualification, PFT will assist Apple and its content partners in delivering content on the Apple Store.

     

    “Today’s consumers demand more content, quicker and at their fingertips – a challenge we welcome and combat daily,” said Prime Focus Technologies founder and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan.

     

    “Apple is an absolute leader in meeting the demands of digital consumers and providing innovative ways of content delivery. We are honoured to have Apple recognise our commitment to this space and to have earned their trust as a long term partner,” he added.

  • Prime Focus sells UK broadcast post production biz to blue 2.0

    Prime Focus sells UK broadcast post production biz to blue 2.0

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus has sold its UK broadcast post production business to a new company called blue 2.0.

     

    Under the terms of the agreement, which both parties expect to be finalised in two weeks, blue 2.0 will take over the Prime Focus UK Broadcast facility at 58 Old Compton Street and the provision of its long-form, drama, short-form, entertainment and DI services.

     

    The new company will employ the majority of the current Prime Focus staff at Old Compton Street, and the phased transition of the business to the new owners will begin immediately. The specific terms of the transaction have not been disclosed and they do not exceed prudent financial materiality thresholds.

     

    Prime Focus is retaining its content services offering (which provides services to long-standing clients such as the BFI and the Imperial War Museum), and a number of large-scale contracts with clients such as Red Bee Media, a major car manufacturer and a global consumer product brand. These contracts will continue to be serviced by Prime Focus staff from the company’s facility at 2 Bourchier Street.

     

    Prime Focus managing director Ramki Sankaranarayanan said, “Following an extensive process in which we have considered a number of offers, Prime Focus has reached an agreement for the sale of its UK Broadcast Post offering. We would like to thank all of our UK Broadcast clients for their support over the years, and assure them that the phased transition of the business to the new owners has been constructed to be as seamless as possible. The divestment of this business allows us to concentrate our full efforts on our core creative services divisions (Prime Focus World and Double Negative) and our cloud technology business (Prime Focus Technologies) in addition to the broad spectrum of media services business in India.”

     

    blue 2.0 managing director Parvinder Bhatia added, “This deal marks the return of the iconic ‘blue’ brand in a new digital avatar – ‘blue 2.0’. Backed by a group of private equity investors, blue 2.0 will offer broadcast clients a boutique post production offering with a focused approach and a personalized service. blue 2.0 plans to be a major new player in the Broadcast post production space and plans are underway to add more capacity and additional service offerings such as VFX to the existing post offering very soon.”

     

    Having served as managing director of Prime Focus UK broadcast post production services for the last four years, Rowan Bray is moving on to explore new opportunities. Sankaranarayanan said: “I would like to thank Rowan for her commitment and tireless hard work over the last four years. Her dedication to providing the highest levels of customer service has been greatly appreciated, and we wish her all the best with the new opportunities that she is considering.”

  • Prime Focus Technologies appoints Yuval Tori as EVP, EMEA

    Prime Focus Technologies appoints Yuval Tori as EVP, EMEA

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the technology arm of Prime Focus, has appointed Yuval Tori as executive vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

     

    Based in London, Tori will be responsible for business operations in the region including business development, sales and client relationships. EMEA is one of the most promising markets for PFT with client relationships like Viacom, The Associated Press and Sony MSM, among others.

     

    “We at PFT strongly believe in our glocal approach – we think global and act local. Yuval brings with him strong technology leadership and local market insights which is critical both for our customers and our business. I believe his experience and leadership will ensure that we continue to grow our presence in the EMEA markets and successfully meet the needs of our customers”, said Prime Focus Technologies founder and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan .

     

    “I have seen PFT grow from strength to strength. Its strategic agenda of expanding outside of India is clear from its recent Dax acquisition. I feel that is just the beginning. I can confidently say that the EMEA market with its very diverse media universe and established content organizations offers unique opportunities for PFT. I am looking forward to meet the colleagues from the industry at IBC this year as a part of PFT,” said Tori.

     

    Tori, a former lawyer with specialisation in company law and torts, comes to PFT with more than 15 years of experience in media and entertainment industry. Before joining PFT, he was  with Pilat Media as sales VP where he focused on growing the company’s business in the EMEA markets. Prior to that, he spent seven years with Amdocs and Comverse where he successfully led sales, business development initiatives and managed alliances.