MwareTV - 10 Reflections To Mark 10 Years Of Success

2021 sees the 10th anniversary of the launch of MwareTV. To celebrate this milestone, CEO Sander Kerstens offers ten observations on what the company has learned along the way to its current position as a leading, cloud-based multi-tenant platform provider.

1. Be customer-centric at all times. The ideal partnership between a vendor and a customer is one in which both parties grow together. Over the past 10 years we have evolved from a single product company to a provider of a complete turnkey TV and video platform, enabling us to guarantee a complete end-to-end solution.

2. Continuous support is key. Customers have direct access to our technical team to get the support they need when they need it. For us this means no ticket walls. From our position as the vendor, it is mutually beneficial as this communication channel allows us to evolve and improve our products following customer feedback on suggestions for additional features and enhancements.

3. Customer success is our success. It is evident that the broadcast industry is moving towards a cloud-oriented and service-driven model that allows customers to pay for what they need – when they need it. This is something that we have responded to by offering our services with a ‘pay as you grow’ model.

4. Take time to understand cultural differences. Expectations and ways of working vary between cultures and territories, so it’s vital to understand and accommodate these if you are to meet all of their needs. In this regard we have found the Mapping Tool defined in Erin Meyer’s book, The Culture Map, to be invaluable as it helps to decode how those differences impact upon international business and provides a wealth of practical advice to inform more effective collaboration and decision-making. And our customers like it as well.

5. Maintain a laser-sharp focus on your core markets. As a tech provider, it’s important to concentrate on the core markets for which you created the business in the first place. For instance, whilst you might have a technology that is also applicable to other markets, it may be that you cannot fulfill the needs of those specific habits and ways of working of that market.

6. Identify the best possible collaborators. Especially in today’s market of complex and rapidly evolving technology needs, it’s vital to remember that you cannot do everything. Almost inevitably if you are working at the cutting edge of technology you will need to partner with some specialists to be able to deliver optimum solutions. Moreover, collaboration is one area in which the sum is frequently more than the individual parts.

7. Keep pace with technology trends and renew your products regularly. It can be argued that broadcast technology workflows are currently changing at the most rapid rate in recent memory. That makes it even more critical to undertake a comprehensive review of the solutions you provide every few years to ensure they continue to meet user requirements.

8. Ensure that the total cost of ownership (TCO) remains low. With the streaming sector continuing to grow and remaining highly competitive, it’s to be expected that customers in this space will retain a very close eye on operating expenses. Therefore, you must continue to provide solutions with low TCO and additional third-party services that are integrated must have the same approach for the mutual benefit.

9. Select and work with an experienced internal team and have fun as well. To be able to deliver the best solutions, you need to have the very best people on your team. Plus, drawing on the talents of individuals with different areas of expertise will strengthen your business immeasurably. Our daily tasks transcend the qualification work, we do what we do with a lot of passion and fun.

10. Work every day with your main goal in mind. In our case that's 'making IPTV OTT simple'. With the OTT market still relatively new compared to 'traditional' TV, it’s important to deliver solutions and services that are easy-to-use and supportive of current and future trends.

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