On the second day of SMX India Communication Summit 2021 which is also supposed to be the first major communication meet of 2021, several renowned speakers from the media and communication sector graced the event.
In the fourth session, Rajesh Kathuria, AVP- Information Technology, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd, was one of the panellists. He shared his views on “Tech Impact on Media and Communication Ahead”. Kathuria has an overall experience of over 29 years and he’s a part of one of India’s leading media and entertainment powerhouses, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. He was previously associated with rediff.com as an Associate Director for System and Network Services. Moreover, he has technical expertise in IT Assets and has been a key digital transformation catalyst in media and advertising agency environments.
Kathuria stated how technology has made an impact and transformed the way people consume media today. He said that the technology’s impact and transformation are very deep and polarized and COVID has helped to accelerate the digital transformation and turned a typical content company into “contech” company, which is basically an amalgamation of content and technology.
He further shared that, although earlier people had access to different kinds of content on mobile phones, laptops, tablets etc. people were not much engrossed in them as compared to the present which has clearly penetrated and polarized this aspect. Since there’s a rise in the consumption of content it also requires regulations and governance. He also pointed out how IT Companies are outperforming others in the market which clearly shows the impact of technology. He mentioned, as far as the impact of COVID-19 is concerned it’s all about sticking to the formula of “Entertainment, Entertainment and Entertainment”, as entertainment is soaring high since the lockdown.
Trends and upcoming economic opportunities in Digital Media
“Agility is now a necessity,” said Kathuria. He further added that it is a definite trend where IT and companies look up to- an ability to scale up and scale down. Meanwhile, they also want to be cost-conscious and that has become the very key to survival for them. While talking about some other trends he added that currently there’s a “hybrid” scenario as people are yet to come back to work while the vaccination drive is going on. He mentioned that people are now craving unique content. So, there’s an absolute high demand for good quality content. He also cited that it’s a great economic opportunity for Actors, Directors, Producers and the so-called “new media technology” people while also suggesting that they have to adapt and evolve themselves in the prevailing situation.
Future of Media and Communications and the Job opportunities
He said, “The future of Media and Communications is very exciting. We are now witnessing the Entertainment phase especially with the OTT platforms.” While talking about job opportunities he suggested that one needs to evaluate their basic skills and become a part of a team that can fly. He also stressed how learning additional skills beyond what is taught in schools and colleges can help the students in the long run. He concluded by giving the following suggestion, “Make sure you upgrade your skills, because static skills become useless after a point of time. Adapt and evolve yourself with the new technology as it will bring you great opportunities.”
The author, Vasundhara Tiwari is associated with Adamas University Media School.
