Middleware is IPTV’s Reluctant Hero
25/02/08 BY Sandip Sarda
Over the past couple of years, I’ve had long and lengthy discussions with service providers about whether or not the idea of middleware is ‘dead’ due to the emergence of IP-enabled networks and devices.
This view has been encouraged because the focus of middleware vendors has been leaning towards the application side – ie, these firms have been looking at what ‘store fronts’ can be created to display the video catalogues that have been acquired by the carriers.
But now more than ever, IPTV middleware should be so such more than just an application layer to help you publish your content. It needs to be the core architecture of an IPTV service, such that it enables service providers to integrate quickly and easily all the other systems (including 3rd party systems) needed to create an all singing and dancing entertainment on-demand offering – eg, VOD servers, security systems, STB and telco back-office systems.
In short, IPTV middleware needs to be the stuff that makes it possible to deliver converged services that allow subscribers to use their TVs in new and exciting ways, not a set of vertical applications
In my view, the IPTV middleware market is only just beginning to develop. This is largely due to the fact that most vendors were slow off the mark and, due to market conditions, they’ve now been left behind with a rough set of ‘tie-in’ software that tends to link content directly to delivery platforms.
We’ve seen that several of today’s largest IPTV implementations in Asia and Europe have used home grown IPTV middleware. But in our discussions, more and more service providers are seeking an extensible and open architecture which will help them upgrade more easily and deliver more compelling services and applications that are based on real customer habits. And, whilst it’s true to say the market isn’t 100% set just yet, we’ve found a strong shared view on this requirement with all of our partners and customers.
So why is middleware so important??
Basically, those service providers that don’t give proper thought to middleware may find themselves in the uncomfortable position of owning a hardwired, inflexible backend infrastructure that precludes them from playing the IPTV field of tomorrow….
At AssetHouse, we feel that IPTV middleware is the most important component in a nascent market. It’s certainly worth a closer look at it here…
IPTV Vendors have already begun replacing their first-generation products with newer technologies that scales better and offer far greater functionality (eg, Cisco has recently developed its own vision of edge routers delivering content…). Yet for the most part, IPTV middleware – the all important stuff that glues a system together – is still a closed solution: to make it work inside a service provider’s stack requires a lot of complex integration with set-top boxes, security systems, VOD servers, and backend servers.
Unfortunately, without shared standards, there is no easy way to do this work. Also, the middleware solutions themselves tend to be monolithic, and usually require a ‘take it or leave it’ approach. (You’re usually limited to whatever applications you’re given as part of a proprietary stack and to create anything new you have a fairly lengthy and costly project on your hands – a fact that’s highlighted by quite a few of the service providers that have gone down this route.)
IPTV middleware vendors say they are working towards an open architecture, but they still disagree about what this architecture should look like, and many disagree about whether it’s best to include middleware as part of an end-to-end solution, or if it should stand alone and work with other best-of-breed components.
We’ve been following some of the current initiatives within the standards bodies. For example, the ITU now has a focus group for IPTV and they are looking across the wider value chain to see where standards can help…. and one of the main areas being addressed is the middleware part.
There’s also a big shift in emphasis from some vendors to offer application programming interfaces (API’s) and software development kits (SDK’s) that allow service providers and third-party developers to build applications on top of their middleware platforms. (Tamblin is one such vendor www.tamblin.com – recently acquired by Alcatel-Lucent). As a result, you can watch web-based TV-type services on your PC today without a single piece of middleware being ‘visible’ in the process.
The approach that AssetHouse has taken is one of openness and flexibility. Rather than use middleware for all aspects of content, product and service management – which tends to tie you to a specific vendor or technology and create a bottleneck in the way you deliver your services – we recommend you always separate content from the application layer.
This way, all aspects related to the management of content and the creation of digital products are done away from the application server, which in turn gives you a whole lot more choice to select whatever IPTV middleware you might need.
Further, I think it’s absolutely crucial to have as many players as possible working on the IPTV technical spectrum to deliver new, creative services.
We’ve seen the benefits of this approach at BT Vision, where AssetFactory takes care of the backend content inventory and proposition management and MSTV is deployed at the set top box end of things. For BT Vision, this selective approach was the first step towards openness and the creation of an environment where the customer has real choice and control and BT has the opportunity to maximize its revenues…. which, of course, is the real reason for creating these services in the first place.
When all’s said and done, it’s encouraging to see the resurrection of middleware, because a discussion about middleware is invariably a discussion about flexibility, openness, choice and service delivery – which are the right kind of discussions for the industry to be having. Whether you’re a service provider or a customer, middleware might just turn out to be the kind of hero we need right now.
