Why there’s still reluctance to jump onto the cloud

One of the ongoing trends in the industry over the last 5-10 years has been the shift from capex to opex models, prioritising recurring investments in software and applications over one-off purchases of hardware and equipment.   

Cloud computing is emerging as a key candidate for these investments, and many companies that experimented with cloud-based platforms to share files and complete work remotely during the pandemic are now making the transition more permanent. 

According to the Big Tech Survey 2025, which surveyed almost 200 producers, post-houses, and broadcasters, 42% of post-houses have moved part of their workflows to the cloud in the last year. 

Respondents cited cloud as one of their biggest technology priorities, after artificial intelligence (AI) and computer hardware.  

Switching to a cloud-based workflow significantly reduces the lag between production and post-production. With camera-to-cloud technology, editorial teams can start working on footage shot the same day. 

As well as being generally advantageous for production houses, camera-to-cloud workflows can also enable VFX artists to view shot changes in real-time, rather than waiting overnight, which can improve budgeting and project planning.

VFX artists working on Disney’s Mulan (2020) used camera-to-cloud technology to provide daily invoices for animation work, which was a first in the industry.

Alongside shifting workflows to the cloud, post-houses may also benefit from storing content there.

As resolution and shooting ratios continue to ramp upwards, post-houses have to ensure they have adequate storage to look after content while it’s being worked on. 

Cloud storage can be scaled up and down depending on a project’s size, helping to avoid overspending or the need to invest in new equipment.

That being said, many post-houses are reluctant to retire on-prem equipment that has not reached the end of its life, especially given the costs associated with migrating content to the cloud.

These costs include ingress and egress fees related to uploading and downloading content to and from the cloud. 

Unsurprisingly, respondents to the Big Tech Survey cited cost as their primary concern with cloud-based storage.

To get around some of these costs, many companies are opting for a hybrid approach, mixing cloud with on-prem storage and only using the cloud to store active projects.

Others have invested in private cloud environments, which can offer more flexibility and customisation. Unlike public cloud services such as AWS and Azure, private cloud environments can be switched off and on when required, saving on power and energy costs. 

Ultimately, while cloud technology offers a plethora of advantages across the media value chain, the costs and logistics of transitioning to the cloud—whether it be workflow or asset migration—may delay its widespread adoption in the short term. 

Xander Hartley is associate analyst at GlobalData