Elisabetta Romano, Vice President and Head of TV & Media, Ericsson, provides insight on several key industry trends for Parks Associates’ 20th-annual CONNECTIONS Conference, which will be held May 24-26 in San Francisco:
How is your company engaging consumers through new technology solutions?
Ericsson works with leading media brands all over the world – operators, broadcasters, video service providers, content owners – to deliver cutting edge TV and OTT video services. Our 
leading portfolio of TV and media technologies enables our customers to provide their end users with the most innovative and immersive TV experiences. Ericsson helps these companies enable consumers to watch TV on any device; to fill TV or media apps with personalized content; To deliver viewing experiences that make consumers feel like they are literally right there; And to keep innovating on these experiences so that the viewing experience always feels fresh and new.
What is the biggest change you have seen in the past year in the connected home and entertainment industries?
The biggest change in the industry we have seen in the past year is more pay TV operators and video service providers embracing agile development and the dev ops model of continuous innovation and continuous deployment. This is a transition away from the traditional waterfall software development techniques of the past that resulted in one or two product releases a year. While that approach worked very well for years, it's no longer acceptable in a world where TV has been transformed by web, mobile and cloud-based technologies. Tech-savvy consumers now expect highly personalized experiences that evolve on a daily basis to keep up with the latest technology trends. Pay TV operators and video service providers are therefore beginning to embrace agile development models to adapt their offerings for the Internet era of TV.
What do you think is the biggest driver for the connected consumer market?
The convergence of mobility, cloud and web technologies is the biggest driver for the connected consumer market. Advancements in these technologies is enabling the explosive growth of content with more types, ways for consumers to consume and new creators. New deployment and operational models utilizing the cloud and virtualization are enabling scalability and service velocity. And most importantly the IP expansion means that greater connectivity is enabling true mobility and the conversion to all IP for access networks.
What is the greatest challenge for the connected home industry in the next year?
As TV moves into the online world of tablets, smartphones and apps, it sets whole new expectations that today’s TV providers struggle to keep up with: Access to all content in one place; Available anywhere at any time; Seamless experience across every screen; Help finding the next favorite thing to watch; Socially connected experiences; Constant new features and service improvements; And the perceived right price. Navigating these challenges and successfully embracing the Internet era of TV is crucial for the industry in the next year.
Romano will speak on the session “OTT and the Transformation of Pay TV” on Wednesday, May 25 at 9 a.m. Other speakers on the panel include Assurant Solutions, BrightLine, Rovi, and Ellation.
For more information on CONNECTIONS, visit www.connectionsus.com or register by clicking here.
