The majority of us will watch a video by the end of today. Whether it is for information or entertainment, people are using video on a daily basis in their everyday lives. Businesses have started to capitalise on this fact and are beginning to incorporate video into their communications strategies.
Widespread corporate adoption of online video is a significant driving force behind investment in and development of the medium. Enterprise video has made a substantial impression at a management level and, as a consequence, budgets to invest in streaming-enabling technology are being inflated.
This increase in spending translates into a much broader audience for distributed video content within businesses. As managers adopt new technology to deliver employee training, executive presentations and company meetings, workforces are becoming accustomed to video as a professional, effective and engaging communications medium.
As the use of online video for business purposes is increasing, the corporate world is making great strides forward, enthusiastically embracing video technology.
A recent report by Wainhouse Research shows that there are five key market trends driving this momentum in enterprise video adoption and setting the stage for continued increase in corporate streaming technology investment.
1. BYOD and the mobile trend
Getting the most value out of business video means accommodating the prevailing trend of using smartphones and tablets for business purposes. As BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and CYOD (Choose Your Own Device) mature as practical business solutions, users will expect the technology to keep up regardless of compatibility, formatting or security difficulties.
Interestingly, most people these days have access to a video camera in the workplace. Fully embracing enterprise video will mean utilising the medium to enable information to flow back up the management chain, providing executives with valuable feedback from their workforce.
2. Engagement
Whether by means of a webcast or a videoconference, video has the potential to create more connected and engaged employees. It is effective, it grabs viewer attention and can entertain and inform at the same time. Video is also a very personal, human medium to convey messages and this makes it easier for management to come across as more approachable, but also for users in general to put a face to their voices and opinions.
3. Employee Generated Content (EGC)
Up until not long ago, it took a lot of work, time and money to create a video, without any guarantee that the end product would work seamlessly. Nowadays however, almost anyone can create a video with a webcam and little else. Young people, even children, do it effortlessly on a daily basis.
More than half of the respondents to Wainhouse's survey said they have access to a camera at their workspace that can capture video. It is now easy to create and share videos at the workplace to communicate faster and more effectively.
4. Integration
In order for video to become a natural part of the workplace, it must integrate seamlessly with the communication solutions that companies already have in place. Enterprise video platforms should not exist in a vacuum, independent of established tools such as Microsoft Lync and SharePoint, IBM Connections and Oracle WebSphere.
In order for solution providers to consistently meet these expectations, the technical requirements demanded of video technology platforms will continue to expand.
5. Security
It is incredibly important that internal communication is secure. In the past, many video sharing options offered less than optimal security for companies. Now enterprise video platforms are developing robust and flexible security for an organisation's sensitive video content.
Final thoughts
The features key to a solid enterprise video platform are not just the ones mentioned above, rather they shift as organisations develop new ways in which video affects their business.
Enterprise video providers must continue to innovate in everything from viewership analytics and network management to network and content security, this last element being of key importance for internal communications. In order to address the expectations of corporate users exploring expanded investments in video, solutions designed for the enterprise market must be both robust and flexible.
The corporate world will play a key role in driving innovations in online video. Regular use and continued investment will push platform providers for frequent product upgrades so that the available software and delivery solutions can be consistently improved. With such investment, development and innovation, the adoption of streaming and online enterprise video will continue to accelerate.
- Martin Nurser is Vice President of Qumu EMEA
