‘Work from home’ is new normal, so what’s next for Ross?

It may be 2020’s most overused word, but ‘unprecedented’ is still the best way to describe the current situation that stems from the COVID-19 pandemic. This infuriating disease has changed our day-to-day routines and created many new challenges for our industry, challenges that have required innovative thinking and difficult decisions.

“Work from home” now seems to be the new normal, and this is unlikely to change any time soon as national lockdowns are being replaced with regional and local restrictions, and social distancing measures are being more tightly enforced.

Virtual Events, Remote Production are Top Priorities

So, as a leader in the live production technology industry, where does this leave Ross? Given the circumstances, we’ve identified two specific areas we plan to focus more closely on in future: virtual events and remote production. We feel that these have become more important than ever in our current climate as they have the potential to mitigate the impact of this pandemic on our industry and those working in it.

The Ross Live virtual event series kept the live production community informed from April to July

Bans on public gatherings and social distancing guidelines have led to the cancellation of many physical events, including conferences, trade shows, sports and live performances, and it seems that virtual events will continue to be the norm for some time to come.

Our decision back in March to withdraw from NAB Show in Las Vegas was difficult and took much deliberation. At the time, the organizers made it clear that they were still intent on running the event, but the Ross senior management team voted against exposing employees, partners and customers to the risks associated with attending an event of that size. It’s always great to get face time with our customers, but people’s wellbeing and security have to come first, so we withdrew from the show with a heavy heart. Of course, the event was cancelled a few days later and the rest of this year’s industry events soon followed.

Ross Live Virtual Events to Return This Fall 

The cancellation of NAB Show denied us the opportunity to connect with customers in person, but team Ross was determined to find a way to showcase our upcoming product launches and new solutions.

We therefore decided to move our efforts online and do things virtually instead. We called it Ross Live – a comprehensive ten-week series of webinars and presentations from April to July designed to share our latest products and news with the live production community.

The plan was a success, and given that the trend of working from home won’t be ending anytime soon, we’ve made the decision to host a second season of Ross Live during the autumn of this year. It’s our way of staying connected with our customers and partners, and sharing the excitement of the new products, features, and solutions we have to offer. You can visit Ross Live Season 2 now for a list of events and to register.

Remote Production Made Easier 

Given that many of our customers and partners are working from home themselves, we’re also focusing heavily on our remote production solutions in order to help make things easier for them.

Ross solutions have been designed specifically so they can be operated through remote applications, VPNs, and video teleconferencing applications.

Our DashBoard facility control software makes it easy to control and monitor hardware products, and many of our software applications can be accessed via remote applications. We also have solutions that are hosted through web servers that can easily be accessed via VPNs. As examples, Inception, our social media management tool, and Streamline, our media asset management system, are both fully cloud-ready and available as SaaS platforms.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg – nearly all Ross products are compatible with remote workflows: Carbonite, OverDrive, XPression, Ross Robotics, and many more.

We feel that remote production is more important than ever right now – the pandemic has acted as a catalyst to drive its adoption throughout the industry and we have certainly responded to that.

Ross Production Cloud Enhances Remote Operations 

Building on the theme of remote production, Ross also offers a cloud-based production platform called the Ross Production Cloud. The solution was developed by Ross Production Services (RPS), our in-house production and services division, to allow content creators to include home-based talent and guests into productions while still maintaining high levels of production value.

The solution includes a combination of physical devices in the RPS control room that can all be controlled remotely with broadcast-quality remote transport.

Broadcast Quality Video Produced in the Cloud

This innovative solution delivers outstanding performance at a low and predictable latency with superior reliability and broadcast-quality video. There are no trade-offs to delay, resolution and stutter.

With the Ross Production Cloud, core production staff can operate equipment from their homes, access MultiViewers via the cloud, and communicate via physical or virtual ClearCom panels. The minimal delay allows for talent to carry on a normal conversation as if they were in the same room. With production staff working at home rather than on-site, everyone’s safety and well-being is maintained more effectively.

It feels safe to say that our industry will see a slew of products being launched over the next twelve months that are designed to keep people safe and help us all adjust to our current circumstances.

Cloud, REMI, Virtualization Top Customer Priorities 

Cloud-based solutions, remote production, and virtualization now seem to be top of the agenda when we speak with customers, and we’re ensuring that our current priorities reflect that. We may not get the opportunity to see our customers in person for a while yet, but we’re committed to staying connected with them virtually and keeping them informed about all the exciting things Ross is doing.

Our top priority is keeping our customers, partners, families, and colleagues safe and healthy. Let’s continue to focus on what’s important and put people first. Visit Ross Live 2 to see our schedule of events and to register.