Recent reports that Netflix will have made a complete move to the public cloud this summer, when it closes down the last of its data centres, has prompted some introspection as to the ramifications of the move away from owned-and-operated data centres.
Netflix began moving to Amazon’s AWS in 2008, prompted by a major failure in its data centre, and is now set to become one of the first major players to move fully into the public cloud.
The reports have prompted Conviva’s chief strategy officer, Keith Zubchecvich, to suggest that although Netflix is one of the first to adopt “full public-cloud operations”, it certainly won’t be the last. “The challenge that all such companies will have is maintaining quality of experience while giving up hands-on control of delivery,” he said.
“The internet is largely unmanaged and chaotic – without automation and control, guaranteeing a positive experience for viewers is near impossible. Given that viewers abandon poor experiences in as little as 30 seconds, and will as often or not abandon series they would otherwise have binge-watched when dissatisfied, this can be an existential threat to any service. Moving away from owned-and-operated data centres, therefore, must be matched with extensive, defensible, and effective experience optimisation automation to end well.”
