ABSTRACT
With that in mind, here are some guidelines to be aware of when building and managing a streaming or digital media business. (These guidelines can also be found as a bullet list at the end of the chapter.) First, make sure there is buy-in from upper management and you have enough of a budget to accomplish at least a valid test of the technology and business. You don’t need to start off with a large budget or large project, but if you don’t have management buy-in on even a test case scenario, a larger scale deployment will be difficult. How do I get upper management buy-in and how do I show the value for the dollars they will spend? That is a valid question and one you have to answer to prove what you are doing adds value to the bottom line. Remember, for most people streaming media is not their core business, so think of the technology in terms of other commodity services. How do you show value by having a telephone, fax, Web site, and e-mail? Streaming and digital media systems are no different. Decide what your need for streaming media is, devise a way to show how it is judged to be successful, and use that to guide your long-term strategy and short-term buy-in from management.
