Deluxe has launched Deluxe Technologies, a division that will be comprised of over 250 engineers from six tech centers around the world with plans to significantly grow the size of the team over the next 12 months. Deluxe has played a key role in the technical evolution of the entertainment industry over the last century, and this is an initial step in the next transformation, towards Deluxe as a virtualized services and platform company.
Currently the company’s end-to-end capabilities include Deluxe creative services, which include its premier visual effects and postproduction brands, and the recently formed Deluxe Distribution, a global portfolio of content management and distribution capabilities. With the acceleration of technological and transformational change in the industry, Deluxe will increase its investments in technology and the rapid development of platforms to help clients meet the growing demand for content by consumers.
Deluxe Technologies will be led by chief innovation officer, Morgan Fiumi. As a key first step in building a top-tier engineering and product team, Deluxe has appointed Andy Shenkler to serve as chief product officer, leading the development of its technology solutions and platforms. An industry veteran, Shenkler brings with him considerable experience in product management, innovation and technology, having pioneered cloud-based content management services. Shenkler most recently served as executive VP, chief solutions and technology officer for Sony DADC New Media Solutions, where his work was widely recognized for its quality and innovation.
“The traditional supply chain has grown organically and become overly complex. As a leading content management company in the world, Deluxe is in a unique position to apply our experience, scale and knowledge to simplify the process and create new value for our customers,” said Fiumi. “We are very fortunate to have Andy–who has extensive experience leveraging new and emerging technologies to build cloud-based platforms–joining the team as we hone our advanced offerings to meet the demands of a growing global industry.”
Deluxe Technologies’ platform innovation efforts will address all key areas of this value chain including:
- Content Creation – Enabling creators to efficiently connect, collaborate and manage projects through to delivery via tools, data and machine learning;
- Marketing – Providing tools to efficiently manage and track the sales, marketing and rights of content globally;
- Localization – Leveraging automation, AI and machine learning to more efficiently create subtitles, dubs and access content;
- Distribution – Simplifying and connecting how content is transformed, packaged and securely delivered to screens;
- Measurement – Leveraging data to improve efficiency and maximize the value of content across the globe.
“Platform-based technologies are transforming the entertainment industry. Our creative services and distribution clients are becoming increasingly reliant not only on our talented people, but the technology used to complete the job,” said Deluxe’s CEO John Wallace. “The proven experience of Morgan, Andy and the Deluxe Technologies team will no doubt bring exciting new platform innovations to market, helping our customers respond to a complex and fast-changing industry.”
Deluxe’s commitment to technological platform innovation goes hand in hand with its efforts to simplify operations for its clients. This follows the recently announced formation of Deluxe Distribution, integrating multiple Deluxe content management services and solutions offerings into a single integrated unit. Now, all such services will be integrated into a single supply chain, which will provide a more integrated approach for its clients and drive better value for them. Deluxe Distribution and Deluxe Technologies sit alongside Deluxe’s creative brands giving the company a true end to end capability from creation to delivery.
