I would like to start by saying that this piece is not meant to sell you on one particular automation system or another – but instead on what you should look for when you do, as well as keeping your hardware up to date.
Automation needs have changed greatly over the last decade – the desire to do remote production, board opping, and voicetracking as if you were sitting in studio are the biggest examples I can think of. With clever workarounds, you can accomplish these tasks on older systems – but that usually requires some technical skill on the part of users and administrators. I would highly recommend an automation system that will let you work remotely via web browser, that way it is OS agnostic.
“Cloud” is the new buzzword, and depending on your comfort level, you can use it as offsite backup, hosting your playout, or anything in-between. If you have most of your people working remotely, cloud might make sense for you as it can afford you the opportunity to shrink your physical footprint. It isn’t free, but it may be worth it if you don’t have to heat/cool/power studios that are mostly empty. Or pay to power racks of servers/workstations.
Even how you buy software has changed over the last 10 years – do you go the buyout path, or SAAS (“Software As A Service”) with ongoing payments? More and more software companies, in and out of broadcast, are moving the SAAS model for consistent revenue streams. What is the upside of SAAS? Usually the support is rolled into the cost as opposed to a separate yearly charge – and that helps when it comes to keeping your automation system up to date with features and bug fixes. It’s also nice to know you can call support anytime with an issue as opposed to trying to figure it out yourself – especially if you are a smaller station with a contract engineer, who may or may not be the best at IT.
Speaking of up to date, if your serves and workstations are over 5 years old, it is a good time to budget replacing all these machines. Why 5 years? That is usually the timeline when the extended warranty expires on business class hardware. One station I know of does such a thing every 5 years like clockwork – the upside is that station hasn’t had any lost revenue due to automation hardware failure. Another benefit is that the Windows versions are kept updated, and continue to receive security updates. While there is nothing wrong with keeping a vintage computer up and running for a hobby, if your revenue depends on a Windows XP or 7 box running 24/7/365…I would try and update sooner rather than later. Especially given the current hardware shortage climate with enterprise grade hardware – servers that were maybe a month out are now a big question mark on availability. Being proactive and not reactive is a great way to not have to run make goods or lose out on revenue.
There are also free automation systems out there, but I would caution that “you get what you pay for”. I have used them off and on over the years for my hobby stations, and for being free they do work. One of the downsides is unless you wish to pay a 3rd party for support, you are learning on your own and having to train users who may have never seen the software before given the limited use. The other issue? What happens if your engineer who has learned it is no longer available? Not saying that it happens all the time, but using a more widely known system reduces the chances of being left in the lurch should someone become unavailable.
The other bit of advice I would give is ask stations around you what they use, and for their honest opinions. As well as their experience with the install and the support – a good install sets everyone up for success.
If you are a music station, does it matter if your music scheduler integrates with your automation? If so, that is another reason to consider going with one vendor over another.
If you have decided on getting a new automation system, here are some tips to make the transition easier:
- Clean out old unused audio. The automation system should not be used as an archive, as any junk in the system will most likely be moved over. This is the perfect time to blow out old voicetracks, liners, unused music, or that sound bite from 1998.
- Break away from using rotations except for network programming. It will make everyone’s life easier if you schedule imaging via your music scheduler of choice vs having to recreate rotations. This also gives you more granular control over what imaging is scheduled vs it being picked by the automation system
- Map out a timeline for the install, and give everyone plenty of soak time with the new system. If possible, set up the new system to run parallel to the existing one so that everyone can see the difference for a few days. Training videos are great, but I have found that the best learning is by doing. And if they mess up in a prod room practicing, that is preferred to doing it after the flip.
- For music stations I will duplicate the database so all the clocks and output formats can be modified without messing up the existing system
- Don’t try to have your new system work exactly as the current one – take this time to rethink wokflows and best practices on how everyone interacts with the automation system to get the most out of it
I hope this has helped if you are on the fence about upgrading or changing out automation systems. If done right, you won’t have to think much about it for many more years to come! And the GM will wonder how the station did without it…or you!
Tom Lawler is an on-air personality, programmer, and contract engineer in the Northeast who works full time as an automation installer & support technician. The views expressed are his own and not any of his employers
