Rethinking Video Infrastructure: Private Cloud, Low Latency, and the Move Beyond Hyperscalers
Voices of Video with Ray Panahon from i3D
Public cloud made it easier than ever to launch and scale video services. But as streaming workloads grow, many companies are confronting a different reality: rising infrastructure costs, unpredictable cloud economics, tighter data sovereignty requirements, and the operational complexity of moving critical workloads somewhere else.
In this episode of Voices of Video, Mark Donnigan speaks with Ray Panahon, Director of Solutions Engineering at i3D.net, about how video infrastructure is changing and why private and hybrid cloud models are becoming increasingly relevant for streaming and live media.
Drawing on i3D.net’s background operating a global low-latency network originally built for gaming, Ray explains how the same infrastructure principles are now being applied to live video, content distribution, cloud repatriation, and data-sovereign workloads.
The conversation explores why moving away from a hyperscaler is often more difficult than the business case suggests, what organizations need to consider before repatriating workloads, and how managed infrastructure, bare metal, virtualization, and Kubernetes can give video platforms more control without forcing them to rebuild everything from scratch.
In this episode:
- Why cloud economics are pushing some video companies to reconsider hyperscaler infrastructure
- The organizational and technical challenges behind cloud repatriation
- How private and hybrid cloud models can support modern streaming workloads
- Why low-latency infrastructure developed for gaming translates naturally to live video
- The growing impact of European data sovereignty and regulations such as NIS2 and DORA
- How bare metal, virtualization, and managed Kubernetes fit into modern infrastructure strategies
- Why access to real engineers and integration expertise still matters for mission-critical live workflows
- How NETINT Quadra VPUs can fit into scalable, Kubernetes-based video processing environments
- What media companies should consider when modernizing infrastructure built five, ten, or even fifteen years ago
As video platforms balance cost, scale, latency, compliance, and reliability, infrastructure decisions are becoming less about choosing a single cloud and more about building the right mix of technologies for each workload.
Watch the episode to hear how i3D.net is approaching that shift and what Ray believes streaming companies should be evaluating as they plan the next generation of their video infrastructure.
Ray Panahon - Director of Solutions Engineering at i3D.net
Ray Panahon is Director of Solutions Engineering at i3D.net, where he leads engineering, solutions architecture, security, and IT initiatives supporting global infrastructure and low-latency workloads. A senior technology leader with more than 20 years of experience, Ray has held leadership roles at BetMGM, Blu Digital Group, InterVision Systems, and Riot Games, where he helped scale esports technical operations and expand broadcast infrastructure globally. His background spans media and entertainment, gaming, cloud, networking, operations, and large-scale digital transformation and AI teams.
Mark Donnigan - Head of Strategic Marketing at NETINT Technologies
Mark Donnigan is the Head of Strategic Marketing at NETINT Technologies, where his extensive experience and innovative approach have significantly contributed to the company's growth and industry standing. With a background that combines deep technical understanding and strategic marketing expertise, Mark has been instrumental in positioning NETINT as a leader in ASIC Video Processing Units (VPUs) for ultra-high density video encoding and streaming. His work at NETINT involves not just promoting the brand and its products but also shaping the future direction of the video streaming and encoding market.