Today, the buzz in the Industry is all about workflow and how solidly designed workflow properly implemented provides measurable efficiencies and return on investment. As a media executive seeking these efficiencies, the marketplace is a bit confused as almost every vendor will pitch their "workflows" as a solution. The reality is that there are really two basic types of these applications:

1. An interconnection within an operational element of your broadcast or media chain, such as a transcoder farm or a satellite ingest service for master control room automation.
2. A much broader application of software engines to enhance or automate the interfaces between major systems, such as your back office software, the play-out and distribution chain, or the production tools.

Deploying a broad workflow system to integrate your systems can automate repetitive operations, employ business rules to enhance human interfaces, provide management dashboards and solidify your processes and procedures for continuing training and constant improvement, all of which lead to measurable ROI.

Weighing the Value of End-to-end Workflow Integration

So, as a manager, how can you best gain these efficiencies? Some would argue that you need to define and build a complete, end-to-end solution, and some of our industry leaders have invested in the infrastructure and have deployed all-inclusive systems. But for the majority of operators, this expensive and lengthy process is too difficult and costly to support, and nearly impossible to "future-proof" as equipment, software and systems change and upgrade on an annual basis.

A wiser and more cost effective approach is to target specific areas of potential efficiencies and employ a workflow engine to address incremental deployments. This integration will take more time and involves multiple vendors during the integration process; however it will leave your organization in control of the specific areas

It is much easier to defend an incremental deployment, where regular measurements can show real savings in time, labor, training or an increase in capacity

of deployment, as well as trained in the methodologies and tools to address the regular and inevitable workflow modifications that occur naturally as vendors in the workflow chain upgrade and update their systems and software.

This incremental approach allows your organization to leverage existing equipment and implement a unique workflow that is best for your operations, a workflow that embraces and enhances the specific vision that makes your company successful.

Any manager will be asked to defend capital expenses and it is hard to justify purchasing a monolithic deployment where every department and individual is touched by a part of the new system--it is much easier to defend an incremental deployment, where regular measurements can show real savings in time, labor, training or an increase in capacity. In the incremental approach, you can define small targeted projects with recognizable returns, keep the costs under strict control, minimize the organizational upheaval, and lower your overall risk. Yes, it will take longer to manage and completely integrate a complex workflow system, and sometime the requirements of the system evolve during the deployment, especially if the process is planned over multiple years.

Managing a workflow implementation does not have to be a major undertaking with outside consultants, lots of management oversight (and overtime!) and high cost. Any company can target specific system improvements and model an end goal. The key to success is to talk to the users and "map" how media assets, people, physical resources and time interact in your system and define the business rules for the workflow engine, especially what should happen when a process "fails" or is "late." Your number one asset is your human capital—great workflows save time, money and free up your staff for more important tasks.