Media organizations are rethinking how content is created and managed. Linear workflows and single-destination assets have given way to multi-platform operations that must move faster, adapt continuously, and extract more value from every piece of content.

For Rich Zabel, who leads the Media Supply Chain discipline at Diversified, the challenge and the opportunity are to help customers design media systems that can evolve alongside their businesses.

From Systems Integration to True Partnership

Diversified works across broadcast, sports, enterprise, and government environments, designing and deploying media systems at scale. While the company has long been known as a leading systems integrator, Zabel notes that the nature of customer relationships has changed.

“Customers aren’t just buying technology anymore, they’re looking for partners who can help them think through what they need today and what they’ll need tomorrow,” he explains.

That approach has shaped Diversified’s long-standing partnership with Dalet. Together, the two companies work closely with customers from the earliest design stages through implementation and expansion, ensuring that workflows remain flexible as requirements evolve.

Designing for Change: Lessons from Monumental Sports

One example Zabel points to is Monumental Sports, a brand-new regional sports network that launched without the benefit of years of legacy infrastructure or institutional knowledge.

“They didn’t always know what they needed on day one, and that’s completely normal,” Zabel says. “The key was building a system that could adapt while the design was still in flight.”

Rather than deploying a rigid, pre-packaged media asset management system, Diversified and Dalet implemented a platform that could be adjusted as needs changed. What began as a regional sports network workflow has since expanded to support additional venues and business units, with new phases already underway.

“That flexibility is what makes the difference,” Zabel notes. “With Dalet’s orchestration capabilities, we can go back in, re-script workflows, and adjust the system without hitting a wall.”

Hybrid by Design: Finding the Right Balance with the Cloud

Cloud technology remains one of the most significant forces reshaping media workflows, but Zabel is clear that there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

“Some customers moved quickly to the cloud, others took a wait-and-see approach,” he says. “What we’re seeing now is that hybrid architectures are often the right answer.”

Cloud brings speed, elasticity, and the ability to stand up and modify workflows quickly. On-prem infrastructure continues to play an important role for storage, resiliency, and cost control. Modern media systems must support both seamlessly.

“With Dalet, most of the systems we’re deploying today are hybrid by design,” Zabel explains. “That gives customers the flexibility they want without forcing them into an all-or-nothing decision.”

AI That Delivers Practical Value Today

While generative AI continues to attract attention, Zabel sees the most immediate impact coming from AI-driven recognition and metadata enrichment.

“Face recognition, voice recognition, transcription, these are the capabilities customers are getting real value from right now,” he says.

By automatically enriching metadata and applying AI across existing archives, organizations can finally unlock the value of content that was previously difficult to find or reuse.

“For years, people relied on institutional knowledge…‘go ask Jimmy where that clip is,’” Zabel explains. “AI changes that dynamic. Suddenly, archives become searchable, discoverable, and usable again.”

Just as importantly, AI helps remove repetitive, time-consuming tasks from creative workflows, allowing editors and journalists to focus on storytelling rather than searching and sorting.

Monetizing Content in a Multi-Platform World

Audience fragmentation has transformed how content generates revenue. Today’s media organizations are no longer thinking in terms of a single delivery channel.

“One piece of content might need to be delivered in multiple aspect ratios, multiple languages, and multiple durations often at the same time,” Zabel says.

Intelligent automation and orchestration make this possible at scale, enabling organizations to maximize the return on every asset by distributing content efficiently across broadcast, OTT, social, and digital platforms.

Open Architecture as a Long-Term Advantage

At the heart of the Dalet–Diversified partnership is a shared belief in open architecture.

“Open systems give customers options,” Zabel says. “They allow you to integrate best-of-breed technologies today and adapt as new capabilities emerge.”

Rather than locking customers into closed, hardware-centric environments, open platforms provide the flexibility needed to future-proof operations.

“We don’t sell products, we sell solutions,” Zabel adds. “That means listening carefully, planning together, and making sure customers don’t reach a dead end in a year or two.”

Looking Ahead

Despite ongoing industry challenges, Zabel remains optimistic about the media industry’s future. “The organizations that succeed will be the ones that stay open to change, invest in flexible architectures, and build strong partnerships.”

As media workflows continue to evolve, collaborations like the one between Dalet and Diversified demonstrate how technology providers and integrators can work together to help customers navigate complexity and design systems built for what’s next.

Contact us to learn how Dalet and Diversified can help you create an adaptable operation