The Walt Disney Studios and Microsoft Team Up to Inject Cloud Technology into Content Production

Iain

Disney and Microsoft team up for use cloud technology in movie production

The Walt Disney Studios and Microsoft Team Up to Inject Cloud Technology into Content Production

The Walt Disney Studios has teamed up with Microsoft for a five-year partnership that will bring more cloud technology to Disney’s production and distribution processes in entertainment.

The initiative is being led by Disney’s StudioLab, an internal team at Disney focused on discovering new means of innovating the company’s dynamic production process. Essentially, this partnership will allow Disney to utilize Microsoft’s Azure technology to make working on projects easier and safer across varying locales, as well as make editing faster and smoother.

Disney and Microsoft team up for use cloud technology in movie production

Walt Disney Studios chief technology officer Jamie Voris spoke to Variety about the news, saying, “There are tons of benefits of being in the cloud.” The initial focus of the partnership will be on the studio’s editing to the cloud. This process will be done with the help of Microsoft’s preexisting partnership with Avid. Through this innovation, Disney will be able to have teams in Burbank working with teams around the world on projects as they are being made in real time. “We can be on a set in Australia and editing in Burbank. Filmmaking is a global process,” said Voris.

By working through Microsoft’s Azure cloud technology, Disney will be able cut down on the use of multiple copies of the same file, as well as store larger files in more secure places, where they are safer from potentially being compromised. Additionally, Microsoft US president Kate Johnson spoke to how Azure will aid Disney through future endeavors like Disney+, “It really feels like we are at the tipping point for cloud in media and entertainment.”

Disney chose to work with Microsoft for their future cloud-based products due to the tech giant’s focus on media. Johnson confirmed that Microsoft has indeed been trying to beat the competition in Hollywood when it comes to these sorts of deals, “We like to think of us as the platform cloud for media and entertainment.”

Disney and Microsoft team up for use cloud technology in movie production

Keep an eye out for future Disney movies that show the Microsoft logo in the credits. It won’t be too long from now.