The way business is conducted in our field is antiquated, slow and misaligned with the speed of change required in today’s world. This disconnect hinders progress across the entire industry, affecting both technology providers and end users alike. While our tools and technologies have evolved, the operational processes and industry norms have not. That’s why at Dalet, we are on a journey to “rebase” the media technology industry itself—much like rewriting a piece of code to be cleaner, faster and more effective.

By rebasing, we mean redefining the foundation of industry practices to align with modern business needs, ensuring greater agility, efficiency and innovation.

I’m not just talking about improving Dalet’s way of doing business. This is about driving collective change across the industry.

The Problem at the Heart of Media Technology

My professional path has allowed me to serve in various capacities, from CEO to CMO and Sales Leader in technology giants such as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Sage and Cisco. Since I joined this industry just over a year ago, I’ve observed a troubling pattern. Typically, a project could begin with a perceived problem in 2025. Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are sent out in 2026. Proof-of-Concepts start in 2027. A decision is made in 2028. By then, the world has shifted entirely.

This glacial pace of operation is not only inefficient, but also counterproductive. It leaves businesses delivering solutions to yesterday’s problems, while today’s opportunities—and tomorrow’s—slip away.

It’s time for a reset.

Redefining Expectations

At Dalet, we are determined to redefine what the industry can expect when it comes to speed, accountability and value delivery. While we’re not there yet, we are fully dedicated to this journey and making continuous progress every day.

• Time-to-Value, Not Time-to-Wait: Time-to-value is now a central tenet of our approach. Media executives can no longer afford years to see returns on their technology investments. We are leveraging agile, scalable solutions that will deliver immense value in weeks, not years. This is a perspective shift that we believe should be adopted industry-wide.

• Customer-Centric Accountability: Accountability is often talked about, but rarely implemented effectively in our field. Going forward, at Dalet, when we make a commitment to a customer, we will ensure we deliver on it—with speed. Transparency is key. When challenges arise, we will communicate them clearly, identify solutions together, and push tirelessly to achieve results. Investing energy in meeting today’s dynamic needs ensures customers can trust us tomorrow.

• Simplified Business Processes: In conversations with customers and partners, I’ve heard one consistent critique of doing business within our industry framework—it is too complex. Changing a contract, receiving updates, or resolving issues often feels more like navigating bureaucracy than advancing operational goals. At Dalet, we are working hard to untangle this web, so that we can create a smoother, simpler way to deliver the capabilities our customers demand.

• Elevating the User Experience: Many industry innovations have failed to succeed, not because the technology doesn’t work, but because the user finds it cumbersome. At Dalet, user input is integral to our solutions—ensuring systems feel modern, cohesive and intuitive. In today’s tech-driven business landscape, delivering an exceptional user experience is essential.

What “Rebasing” Truly Means

“Rebasing” isn’t merely a metaphor. It’s a call to action that requires questioning every assumption. It means analyzing every outdated process and determining whether it has any place in a modern industry. We need to align operations with the breakneck speed of current content distribution methods, the complexity of emerging digital platforms, and the growing demands of hungry audiences. This requires involving the wider community in the conversation—our employees, our customers, our partners and our industry peers.

The first step in our journey is to rebase Dalet’s operations, aiming to set a precedent for improving business practices across the industry. What does “good” look like in media technology? What does “speed” and “reliability” mean in the context of mission-critical tools? We strive to answer these questions through the changes we’re implementing internally.

The Industry Needs a Cultural Shift

This goes beyond technology. It’s a cultural challenge. The broadcast and media industry has often been slow to adapt, protective of entrenched ways of thinking and reactive rather than proactive. A change is needed.

At Dalet, we are renewing our guiding principles to emphasize transparency, customer-focused accountability and agility. We hope this serves as an industry reminder that change is possible and can bring positive outcomes.

Building a Collaborative Ecosystem

No single entity can transform an entire industry alone. This effort requires collaboration across partners, customers, analysts and thought leaders. By working together to build an ecosystem focused on shared value creation, we seek to fuel innovation for the entire community.

The industry needs passionate people—from journalists to engineers, creators to consumers—working closely to reimagine what is possible. Together, we can achieve this transformation.

Why It Matters

At its core, media technology is about enabling stories that move the world. Whether it’s breaking news, a transformational documentary, or live sports content, the work our industry supports has the power to connect people, inspire change and create shared understanding.

To ensure we continue this vital mission, it is our collective responsibility to evolve our tools, processes and expectations.

By taking deliberate steps to modernize how we work, we can ensure that the media technology industry not only survives, but thrives—ready to deliver the stories of tomorrow, today. At Dalet, we’re at the start of this transformational path.

If this resonates with you—whether you’re a broadcaster, technologist, or innovator—join us in redefining the future of media technology. It’s time for us to step into a faster, simpler and more accountable industry together. Find me at the 2025 NAB Show (booth W1717) to be part of this movement.

The post “Rebasing” the Media Technology Industry appeared first on Dalet.

In recent months, I’ve had the privilege of seeing firsthand the intricate process behind news production and dissemination. It is an ecosystem brimming with passion, yet hindered by financial and operational challenges.

With increasingly fragmented audiences and the rise of highly-biased and even fake news, maintaining the integrity of journalism is more crucial than ever. This is why at Dalet, we are on a mission to empower storytellers with innovative technology solutions, so they can overcome the challenges of delivering news in the 2020s.

This mission is also deeply personal to me – let me tell you why.

Storytelling as a Passion

Since becoming part of Dalet six months ago, I’ve been struck by the deep passion that permeates every level of the news industry. Whether it’s the journalist on the frontlines or the producer ensuring seamless delivery, each person plays a crucial role in the storytelling process. This dedication is not just about relaying facts, it’s about weaving narratives that connect people globally, fostering understanding and purpose.

Storytelling is an ancient craft. From prehistoric caves to digital newsrooms, stories have been the heartbeat of human communication, guiding us through survival, growth, and transformation. The role of storytellers today is more critical than ever, helping us make sense of an increasingly complex world. As I shared when I joined Dalet, my passion for news began early – I started reading The Economist at age thirteen. I’ve always been acutely aware of the difficulties news outlets face in adapting to rapidly changing digital landscapes, consumer demands, and new forms of competition.

Empowering news professionals and storytellers is truly an honor for me.

Addressing the Financial Realities

The economic landscape for news media is fraught with tension. While audiences might not perceive a crisis, companies grapple with profound financial challenges behind the scenes. Society must recognize the value of a healthy, diverse media ecosystem that counters thought manipulation and promotes a spectrum of perspectives.

Dalet recently partnered with Caretta Research to carry out a comprehensive research project into the future of news operations. The findings echoed concerns we’ve heard from our customers: over half of newsrooms have experienced budget cuts in the past year and are expected to do more with less. On top of that, 45% of news operations experience significant challenges with legacy systems. Specifically, outdated tools and fragmented workflows that limit access to content from the field and require users to jump between multiple systems to complete tasks. The full report is available for download here.

At Dalet, we have worked for over three decades to protect the future of newsrooms. Our solutions aim to bring operational value to newsrooms and transform business models, ensuring sustainability and integrity. Our recently launched Competitive Upgrade Program is designed to do exactly that: provide an efficient and financially-attractive path to modern news operations so they not only survive, but thrive in the future.

The Complexity of Real-Time News

Inside the newsroom, the challenge of delivering accurate news in real time is immense. The expectations are high – consumers demand immediate updates, often valuing speed over depth. This shift is driven by younger generations who live in an era of constant connectivity, where platforms like “BeReal” encourage real-time sharing, putting 24/7 pressure on news storytellers.

The transition from hour-based updates to second-by-second coverage has placed unprecedented pressure on media outlets. Despite these challenges, the industry remains at a crossroads — balancing the demand for rapid information with the depth and context that foster informed decision-making.

It is no surprise that Caretta’s research found that social media platforms as gatekeepers pose the greatest external threat to newsrooms, surpassing worries about declining revenues and audiences.

Safeguarding the Integrity of News in the Age of AI

The advent of AI presents both opportunities and threats to the integrity of news. Generative AI promises to enhance speed and reach, but also raises concerns about misinformation. At Dalet, we are actively working with the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) to develop solutions that ensure data provenance and trustworthiness. We are committed to integrating C2PA standards into our products, providing tools for news organizations to maintain their credibility in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

In addition, we leverage AI to help news organizations tell their stories more efficiently with AI-driven features such as wire summarization. Our tools also help reporters address the complexities of multilingual requirements with AI-driven translation for captions, graphics, voiceovers, and more.

Our goal is to harness AI responsibly, maintaining the delicate balance between innovation and integrity.

Why I Am Optimistic About The Future

The future of news storytelling lies in personalization and data integrity. Consumers will demand tailored content delivered through trusted channels. We must balance this with the need for diverse perspectives, ensuring that news remains a tool for enlightenment, not reinforcement of biases. Media companies must continue to challenge audiences with diverse viewpoints, fostering critical thinking and informed discourse.

Our vision at Dalet is clear—to help transform newsrooms into agile, future-ready entities in a world where news remains a vital force for good. We are executing this vision through strategic partnerships, innovative technologies, and a commitment to ethical standards. I’m encouraged to see that Caretta’s newsroom research found enormous optimism among the sixty leading news organizations it surveyed.

If you are a news storyteller or work in a newsroom today, I would be delighted to discuss how Dalet can enhance newsroom operations, safeguarding both integrity and accessibility for generations to come.

The post The Transformative Power of News  appeared first on Dalet.

The recent IBC2024 Show, along with the associated side events and conferences, reinforced the key themes I’ve been observing over the past months, which have to do with the financial and operational challenges that many media and technology companies are currently facing.

After engaging with our clients and gathering insights from industry analysts during the show, I identified two recurring themes in our discussions: value and interoperability. These are critical challenges that must be addressed as our industry stands at a significant crossroads.

Never Mind Features, Users Want Value

A predominant challenge within media technology is the difficulty buyers face in identifying true value among the myriad of solutions offered. At the show, I observed the pervasive sentiment that market offerings frequently fail to meet expectations. During the Devoncroft Executive Summit in Amsterdam, I heard several media companies speak of technology investments that sit unused – up to 50% in one particular case! These idle assets take up valuable real estate, waste resources, and incur significant costs.

The root of this issue lies in complex pricing structures and feature sets that are often overcrowded, not delivering tangible benefits for users. Technology vendors must shift their focus from purely financial goals to truly enhancing user experiences, prioritizing the delivery of genuine value through their products.

At Dalet, we’ve embraced a mission focused on delivering solutions that help our clients increase revenue, achieve cost savings and obtain greater ROI — a priority we have held for some time now. Our commitment is not only to deliver useful functionality, but also to focus sharply on customer success through operational efficiencies and authentic enhancements to the user experience.

Dalet’s continued pursuit of value is best illustrated by our recent collaboration with PPC, where we successfully delivered measurable benefits. The global production company uses Dalet’s solutions to standardize their production-based workflows and integrate key technologies within their business to achieve greater efficiencies and tangible cost savings. In addition to PPC, we have a rich history of delivering tangible value to our clients through the implementation of Dalet’s solutions. Consider Cricket Australia, where our workflow integration platform, Dalet Flex, was instrumental in eliminating technical debt and operational inefficiencies, bringing considerable time and resource savings compared to their previous archive workflow. A couple of years ago, we delivered a Dalet Flex solution to premium Korean content platform, Kocowa, which, as they described, “provided a highly configurable API and technical environment for us to meet our media flow requirements, helping us reduce considerable costs and speed time to market.”

As evident over the years, prioritizing value over features has been integral to Dalet’s DNA. I believe that in today’s efficiency-conscious industry landscape, only those solution providers who can demonstrate the true value of their offerings will endure – especially for mission-critical workflows.

Interoperability – The Key to Technical Success

The second significant theme I’ve noticed in recent months is the crucial need for interoperability. Media companies pride themselves in curating their technology solutions and working with best-of-breed providers, but have struggled for years to make them all “play nicely together,” i.e. to interoperate and integrate diverse systems into smooth, cohesive workflows.

The reality of siloed systems and proprietary formats often leads to inefficiencies and unnecessary hurdles for media professionals. We all know that this can lead to delays in content delivery, impacting revenue streams and business success.

The IABM underscored this point at their IBC2024 State of the Industry breakfast – interoperability is not just a technical requirement, but the backbone of successful collaboration and future-proofing in the media tech ecosystem. This insight reinforces Dalet’s focus on ensuring our solutions not only work seamlessly within our own ecosystem, but also integrate effortlessly with other platforms and technologies. Our goal is to ensure that our customers derive maximum value from Dalet’s solutions by integrating them with both new and existing technology, thereby protecting their investments and increasing global ROI.

Dalet Flex exemplifies our commitment to developing a premier integration layer for the industry. Since its inception, Flex has pioneered seamless connectivity between third-party platforms, ensuring operations run efficiently and collaboration is enhanced. Through careful listening and understanding of our clients’ needs, Dalet Flex was developed to be adaptive, intuitive, and a key enabler of operational success since day one, featuring more than 300 integrations to date.

We also recognize that technology buyers seek simplicity from their vendors, so at Dalet, we continue to evaluate and are working to significantly enhance the customer journey and experience. By focusing on reducing complexities, our solutions allow enterprises to harness the true potential of their media assets, unburdened by clunky integration issues. Some of our latest partnerships include Veritone, Singular.live and Telstra.

Dalet’s Commitment to Empowering Your Businesses

After more than 180 days as Dalet’s CEO, I am convinced that true value and outstanding interoperability are vital for success in the industry. These are not just our business objectives, but core principles that steer our development efforts.

As 2025 approaches, a year predicted to be pivotal to the industry, Dalet’s mission remains to be an enabler of storytelling and business success through technology that helps create value and is simple to use.

Helping our clients maximize their investment is what drives us every day. Whether you’re already a valued client or contemplating joining us, I’ll be happy to hear from you about how we can help address these industry-wide issues and navigate the evolving media technology landscape together.

The post Navigating the Media Technology Storm Through Collaboration and Value appeared first on Dalet.

My commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) has set the stage for a series of initiatives that will not only redefine our corporate culture, but also contribute to the industry’s overall minority imbalance. As we make space for everyone to express their unique identity, we will work on building a workforce that encompasses everyone, irrespective of their gender, age, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Supporting them in their journey has shown me the profound importance of diverse perspectives.

Having implemented inclusion practices throughout my career, I am confident these plans will positively impact Dalet’s employees, customers, and the industry as a whole.

Why DE&I matters

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just buzzwords for me; they are principles that I hold dear, both professionally and personally. Being a father to five daughters, I have a vested interest in seeing a world where opportunities and career paths are not defined by gender, age or cultural background, but by talent and effort. Over the years, I have mentored women of all ages in business, especially mid-career professionals aspiring to rise to C-level positions. Supporting them in their journey has shown me the profound importance of diverse perspectives.

If a team consists of five people who all think the same way, then four of them are redundant. A diverse team brings various viewpoints and experiences to the table, fostering creativity and innovation. It’s not just about race or gender; it’s about different life experiences and perspectives that challenge the status quo and drive progress.

Despite significant strides, inequality persists. Glass ceilings are real, and wage disparities for the same roles still exist. Moreover, the language used during recruitment processes can either attract a diverse pool of candidates or inadvertently exclude them. This is why I am passionate about ensuring that our hiring practices are as inclusive as possible, attracting people from all walks of life.

State of DE&I in the Media Technology Industry

My observations at industry events, particularly the 2024 NAB Show (my first), have been disheartening. The lack of diversity is alarming and something we cannot simply accept. Unfortunately, and despite multiple initiatives such as RISE and Women in Streaming Media, it is well known that the media technology industry has a poor track record with regards to DE&I. We need to create more opportunities and foster environments that allow for diverse participation.

The reasons for this lack of diversity are multifaceted. However, one significant factor is the absence of inclusive recruitment strategies that reach out to talent from varied backgrounds. By not addressing this, we are missing out on a wealth of untapped potential from across multiple collectives that could revolutionize our industry.

Our DE&I Plans at Dalet

As we celebrate Pride Month, I am deeply committed to creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace at Dalet. This includes increasing the representation of LGBTQ+ individuals and people of diverse ethnic backgrounds and ages within our team. With the unwavering support of Dalet’s Chief People Officer, Delphine Vantours, as the enabler for this journey, we are implementing a number of specific initiatives:

• Enhanced Parental Leave: We have increased paid leave to twelve weeks globally for primary caregivers, and offer three weeks of leave for secondary caregivers. This move reflects our commitment to supporting our employees’ family lives

• Inclusive Recruitment: We are revising our job specifications to ensure that the language used is inclusive and welcoming to candidates from all backgrounds. This includes using gender-neutral language and highlighting our commitment to diversity. In addition, we are committed to always including a woman in our hiring team and are actively working to enhance diversity within our leadership team.

• Empowering Employees: Every female employee will be encouraged to join RISE and Women in Streaming Media, participate in their events, and take advantage of their offerings. We will continue supporting diversity groups financially within the industry. This will help them grow professionally and personally.

• Mentorship: We will foster a culture of mentorship, supporting both mentors and mentees, throughout the organization. I will personally mentor individuals both within Dalet and externally, through programs such as RISE and Women in Streaming Media, helping to guide the next generation of diverse leaders.

• Individual Sponsorship: This practice, which I’ve been engaged in for years, involves championing and recommending individuals for future opportunities, thereby advancing their careers based solely on their talent and abilities.

• Diverse Panels: We are committed to having diverse panels at industry events, ensuring female representation with a variety of perspectives.

• Volunteering Opportunities: Every employee at Dalet now has one day per year to volunteer for a cause they believe in. This initiative fosters community engagement and allows our employees to contribute positively to society.

I know there is much more we can do, but this is a good foundation.

The Future is Diverse

I’ve witnessed the profound effect that such practices can have on a company’s workforce, its clients, and the wider industry, and I’m excited to see the impact within Dalet. Studies show that diversity enhances business performance by bringing in better talent, improving decision-making, and increasing brand equity. But beyond the business benefits, it’s simply the right thing to do. Whether it’s providing a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community, ensuring equal opportunities for all genders and ages, or empowering people of diverse cultural inheritance, our goal is to ensure that everyone feels that they belong.

Diversity matters. We all have a role to play in creating a more inclusive world, and at Dalet, we are committed to making meaningful changes in our corner of the industry.

If you believe in the value of diversity and inclusion, share this article and let’s start a dialogue that can lead to positive change. Contact us to share other successful initiatives that have made a significant change to any organization.

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