Located in Europe and looking for a video streaming solution that has a server infrastructure also located there? IBM is introducing a concentrated, shared server cluster for the Europe region, located in Frankfurt, Germany.
For organizations that elect to use this added service, they will be able to manage and deliver live and on-demand video strictly from a Europe based server cluster. As a result, servers from outside Europe aren’t used for those who elect to use this service. This introduces advantages to Europe based organizations and also the ability to comply with certain regulations.
Regulatory considerations
Outside of performance advantages of the concentrated server cluster, there are regulatory considerations for using this added service. On July 17th, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Cloud services hosted in the United States are incapable of complying with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and European Union privacy laws.
This placed importance on having a Cloud infrastructure located within Europe. The added concentrated server cluster meets this requirement, as it has enhanced data protection. As a result, data no longer leaves Europe when using this added service. This includes video data, metadata and metrics related to viewers. Consequently, this allows organizations to gather details on viewers with privacy features that adhere to regulations. Information includes viewer registration with an opt in prompt and subsequent viewer tracking, such as seeing what content was accessed and when. Learn more about individual viewer tracking analytics to get a sense of what data is stored on end users accessing live and on-demand video content.
Performance of the server cluster for Europe
Concentrated server clusters bring with them a variety of advantages, which broadcasters and organizations can leverage. The largest improvement is enhanced speed for those located in Europe. This enhancement is both on the viewer side, in terms of accessing live and on-demand content, but also in terms of managing content in the dashboard of the IBM streaming account.
Beyond this, the added service comes with many of the same benefits found normally through the video streaming solution. This includes robust security options for corporate communication, enabling support for SSO (Single Sign-On) that links up to a corporate directory. It also encompasses mass scale for things like virtual events through a robust delivery infrastructure that seamlessly switches between sources to optimize the viewing experience and support giant audiences.
Live event streaming features found in the main solutions are also included. This covers interactive features, such as moderated Q&A, chat, direct messaging, live audience polling and clickable video overlays. It also includes a registration gate, with the ability to gate access to content. Once someone registers they can then be tracked, while this sensitive data stays within Europe.
Support for a wide range of methods to broadcast or curate live streams are also available with the server cluster for Europe. This includes virtually any RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol) based encoder along with the IBM streaming apps for iOS and Android. Simulated live streaming, through using live playlists, is also available to create linear channels that play like live content or to simulate a live broadcast with on-demand content.
Getting on the concentrated server cluster in Europe
To get an account on the concentrated server cluster in Europe requires signing up for a custom plan. This means contacting us and during the process noting that you’d like to use this service. The concentrated server cluster service is not available for Silver, Gold or Platinum level plans.
For existing accounts, note that the Europe server cluster is associated with a different URL than IBM’s main global video streaming services. This URL is eu.video.ibm.com. The importance of this is found in how content is accessed and shared. The dashboard, embed codes, channel pages, video portal, APIs and more now all include this different URL. As a result, there is no migration path for already existing accounts. They will have to sign up for a new account that is on the server cluster instance for Europe. Due to the different URL, this also means that the organization feature can’t connect accounts that are on and off the server cluster instance in Europe. Consequently, moving videos from the old to new account will require downloading them and manually re-uploading them.
Summary
The concentrated server cluster in Europe allows companies to tap into the scale and power of IBM’s video streaming solutions while keeping data and processes in the EU. This enables companies to comply with regulations and also boost performance for those inside Europe.
Interested in learning more about this added service? Contact us to hear more.