1. This Year Gave Us Insight into a Post-Covid Future
In the past, IBC has served as an annual gathering where media and tech companies can review the past year’s trends and lay a path for what’s coming in the next decade. This year was unique, as it was the first chance in years for us to reconnect with our customers and industry friends.
We know many of you can agree when we say that when COVID-19 crisis hit in early 2020, it felt like the entire world came screeching to a halt. Nearly two and a half years have passed and while things may never return to the way they were before the pandemic, this year’s IBC gave us insight into a new, post-COVID future for trade shows. IBC showed us that in-person events are steadily coming back and still provide an amazing opportunity for learning and collaboration.
2. We Witnessed the Evolution and Resilience of Media
Despite the major shifts brought by the pandemic, we were inspired when we saw that global media companies have been resilient and creative as ever. Adapting to serve homebound audiences has reshaped the media landscape like never before. We also witnessed the ways media companies continue to evolve their processes and workflows. Today, about half of all workers have spent significant time working remotely, and 25% of all professional North American jobs are now predicted to remain remote permanently. And in Europe, estimates suggest that almost 40% of people employed in the EU started remote work fulltime as a result of the pandemic. Initially, many companies patched together makeshift workflows to accommodate these changes.However, as we press forward into the post-COVID era, we saw organizations were now eager to rebuild these workflows in a more robust and future-proof way. This allowed them to deploy industry standard solutions and removing the manual effort that commonly kept them afloat during the pandemic. The last huge takeaway was that digital, cloud-based solutions are more important than ever before. Customers are looking into expanding the footprint of all-in-one resource management software, like our Media Operations Platform. The remote-hybrid structure has highlighted the need for a single source of truth that is available to users in any location.3. IBC Welcomed Innovative Media Operations Solutions
When you attend IBC, you can feel the excitement in the air. It’s a warm, welcoming place for media experts and tech-minded innovators.
Exploring the IBC floor is always a whirlwind of exhibitors, speakers, familiar faces, and IBC award winners. Everyone is there to celebrate our industry and show or see what’s coming in the future. IBC reminds us why we got into this business and why it’s so important to stay connected to our colleagues.
4. We Collaborated and Reconnected
The IBC holds a special place in our hearts because it keeps the power of connection in the hands of the people. As the event’s showrunners explain, “IBC’s vision is to empower content everywhere.” Everything at the IBC is about engagement, expression, and empowerment. This is especially important in an era that has seen the epic rise of social media, citizen journalism and digital engagement. Interpersonal connections matter above all else because they keep content from becoming too transactional or commoditized in an increasingly digital landscape. Plus, its European location couldn’t be more ideal. Europe is a global seat of media innovation, especially in the broadcast world. Although the pandemic might have slowed us down, it only increased our industry’s desire to collaborate and communicate.5. It Was Great to See You!
As the saying goes, change is the only constant in life. Next year will be wildly different from this year, just as the last few years have been such a wild ride. This year’s IBC provided the perfect chance to examine these changes and ensure we’re all pointed in the right direction.
As a trusted provider of all-in-one media operations solutions, resource management software, and so much more, Xytech Systems always feels at home at the IBC. We were excited to share our platform and build appreciation for Xytech Systems’ role as a command center for evolving companies in an ever-changing world.
We were thrilled to be part of the IBC again this year. It was great to see you if you joined us at the event, and if not, let’s reconnect soon.