How self-hosted OTT works
The vendor delivers the software and helps deploy it. From then on the infrastructure is yours: you pay the cloud or data-center bills, arrange the delivery network, apply updates and respond when something fails.
The costs beyond the license
- Hosting: servers, databases and storage
- Delivery: a CDN contract of your own
- Engineers to deploy, monitor, secure and upgrade the system
- DRM licenses and third-party services
- Updating every app as device platforms change each year
- Support or upgrade contracts with the vendor after the first period
When self-hosting is the right choice
Owning source code only helps if you have a team to maintain it. Without one, a managed platform is usually cheaper in total and far quicker to launch.
- Regulation or policy requires video and data to stay on your own infrastructure
- You need to modify the code for something no platform offers
- You already employ a team that runs video systems
- Your scale is large enough that owning the stack is cheaper than renting it
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