Enterprise Video A Powerful Enabler of Business Strategy Historically, the use of video in the enterprise was limited because of culture, cost, security, viewing tools, and limited content creation solutions and capabilities. This is not the case today. We are a media-centric society: This is the digital age. But more importantly, the use of digital media is being embraced globally and at the core of the media is video content. Video represents an overwhelming amount of the content accessed by consumers and people in the workplace. Netflix (31.6%) and YouTube (18.6%) account for over 50% of Internet traffic over fixed access networks in North America. Netflix captures 5.01% of market share via mobile access networks with YouTube accounting for 17.69% and Facebook 15.44%. 1 The value of video in any organization (private enterprise or government agency) has risen and many are classifying it mission-critical. Bottom line, video is accepted, embraced, and used in a growing number of business communication solutions. Video is the medium that provides the most compelling content for meaningful consumption and drives engagement, collaboration, and interaction. Video is used to communicate, inform, educate, motivate, and entertain. It is used to refresh, update, and enhance performance support. It is used to market, promote, and sell. It is used to build and enhance the company s brand. It is used to enhance the customer experience. Video is relevant and powerful. Therefore, we feel confident in saying that video in the enterprise is a must! First, we will discuss how the use of video has grown and how we have overcome the concerns and issues of the past: Today s viewing platforms and content creation solutions are cost-effective and affordable, secure, feature extensive capabilities, and are culturally embraced in this age of digital video. Then we will shift our discussion to planning for and implementing video in the enterprise. We will focus on three technologies most likely to have a significant impact on next-generation solutions: mobility, social media and the Cloud. Our intent is to provide information and perspective about enterprise video that helps make the business case for the implementation of affordable, effective, and secure enterprise-wide, video-based communication and employee engagement solutions. Media-Centric Society: The Digital Age Enabled and Empowered by Technology and Capabilities Use of video and mobility is increasing everywhere. This digital age is driven by mobile device technology, mobile apps, and content. How do we know? We are told and reminded about it constantly: in television commercials, print advertisements, articles, news stories, water cooler conversations, etc. There are countless coined phrases to describe it, such as: Anytime, anywhere, on any device. People expect access to information when, where, and how they want it. People are collaborating, sharing, and interacting via mobile devices. 1 Sandvine Global Internet Phenomena 2H 2013, www.sandvine.com HughesON is a comprehensive suite of managed network and digital media solutions designed for multi-branch organizations ranging from high-capacity access, managed security, WiFi, and VoIP to digital signage and video-on-demand training.
Also, video technology is ubiquitous. Think about it. Where can you go and not be within viewing distance of a video screen, including the screen(s) that you carry? We refer to these points of contact as a digital touch point. A digital touch point is the reaching of an individual through an electronic device. More specifically, it is a point of contact when a person or a company provides a targeted customer or employee with information or content via a digital media channel for consumption on a digital device, such as a television, computer screen, tablet, smartphone, or other smart device. 2 Content, network, and device providers have built the systems and infrastructure to create, deliver, and display content for consumption anywhere, anytime, and on any device. These innovation and technology implementations will continue. Corporate marketing leverages the systems to provide creative, timely, and relevant video commercials and content. They use the tools to track, measure, and evaluate the viewing activity and habits of targeted viewers. Individuals are viewing video content of all types and lengths from a variety of sources. They interact with the content sources, and share the information with family, friends, and work associates via touchscreens and keyboards that they carry or have access to throughout their daily activities. They participate in video chats on their smartphones as well as Skype on their computers and Internet-connected televisions. Who would have predicted this in 1964 when the AT&T introduced the videophone? Video is so prevalent that newspapers, print advertisements, and other publications are at risk of becoming irrelevant and unnecessary. Why? The younger generations are comfortable acquiring video content rather than reading static print. Also, today s computers, smartphones, and other digital devices have video record, edit, and sharing capabilities. This functionality is empowering individuals to create and share content, encouraging interaction and engagement as well as driving business results. A bigger question is, Why would anyone prefer print or other static media over video communications? They don t. Not as consumers. Not in the workplace. As stated in the introduction, video communications in the enterprise is now a given! Much like DSL replaced dial-up, digital HDTV flat screens replaced analog televisions, email replaced the FAX, touchtone phones replaced dials, Facebook surpassed MySpace, automobiles replaced horses and buggies, video has become the preferred way for individuals to receive, view, and consume content versus print and other static media. Corporations and organizations have embraced the use of video for internal applications to distribute and share corporate information, conduct meetings, and support workplace learning. They conduct live interactive video-based meetings and provide updates and market information to the news media. They provide videos and modules on products, services and other relevant corporate information for on-demand viewing: much of it on mobile devices. They use video ads and promotions with the traditional broadcast media, but also direct video content to mobile devices and social media channels. As the use of video in the workplace increases, organizations are finding ways to use it to increase revenue, reduce costs, improve customer satisfaction, and improve the bottom line! How does this relate to past concerns and issues related to video in the enterprise: culture, perception, cost, security, and limited content creation solutions and capabilities? Based on current statistics, enterprise organizations have embraced and used video as a significant part of their communications and learning DNA. According to Cisco, 61% of young executives will rely more heavily on business-class video in the next 5 to 10 years. A survey conducted by PR News and PR Newswire finds that 76% of PR professionals plan to use more visual storytelling elements in their communications in 2014. In a study by Aberdeen Group on how organizations are incorporating video into their learning strategies, 81% of all best-in-class organizations surveyed use video-delivered content to help achieve business success. Focused analysis and research will provide a compelling business case for the use of video-based solutions that are affordable and in some cases can create revenue-generating opportunities. Video content and delivery solutions have extensive security capabilities, which effectively interface with corporate IT systems. Finally, today s video-based solutions are feature-rich with extensive operational, functional, and technical capabilities. How can an organization afford to not implement an enterprise-wide, video-based communications and workplace learning system? To be competitive and successful, they can t. Organizations should be leveraging video. 2 Randy Palubiak, Digital Touch Points: How to Gain a Competitive Advantage Using Video and Dynamic Media (2013) 2
New Media and Innovative Technology Mobile, Social Media, and The Cloud Drive the Value of Video New and innovative technology and apps are introduced or evolve daily to the point that it s often difficult to keep pace. This is a good thing. There is technology to consider for any interest or to address any challenge. There are three areas where we will see the most innovation, advancements, and growth related to the use of video in the enterprise: mobility, social networking, and the Cloud. Pundits and research across industries consistently indicate these technologies, along with big data, will have the most significant impact on spending and utilization for the foreseeable future. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), worldwide IT spending will grow 5% year over year to $2.1 trillion in 2014. Smartphones and tablets will account for about 90% of the projected growth. Cloud spending, including Cloud services and the technology to enable the services, will increase by 25%. Enterprise social networks will become increasingly available as standard offerings from Cloud service providers and by 2017, 80% of Fortune 500 companies will have an active customer community (up from 30% today). Big data technologies and services are projected to grow by 30%. However, the topic of big data (and little data), as it relates to video in the enterprise, will be saved for another time. To provide perspective, today s technology platform including mobile, social, and Cloud technologies, have billions of users (including enterprise organizations, small businesses, consumers, service providers, and emerging markets) and millions of Apps, services, content, and experiences. Mobile devices and apps are the critical element, as the projected IT spending indicates. Previous platforms, based on PCs, the Internet/ LAN and client/server, and mainframes and terminals, had significantly fewer users and apps. Mobility Getting Video Content to the Fingertips of Targeted Viewers Mobility is projected as the area for the most significant growth as people demand to consume content anywhere, anytime, and on various devices. The number of different devices and operating systems will continue to increase, presenting a challenge for organizations to keep pace. It will be interesting to see the form factors for smartphones, tablets, and laptops as they evolve. As sizes expand and contract, will curved/bendable small screens gain market share? What can we look forward to related to video capabilities and applications? The quality of video will improve for recordings, on-demand playbacks, and viewing of live or real-time content. The ability to video chat between and/or amongst devices and operating systems will increase beyond Apple s FaceTime. How long will it take for them to be interoperable? The storage capacity will expand, allowing for more immediate, readily available content. The ability to interact with, respond to, and share video communications via instant messaging, chat, and other data exchanges to other devices and systems will improve providing an enhanced user experience. This will include digital signage, kiosks, and other on-premise systems. 3
The viewing of video on mobile devices will increase for live programming as well as on-demand viewing. Corporate information and learning content will be directed (broadcast) to a wide viewing base for timely, consistent notifications, and streamed to targeted audiences of all sizes. Select content will be downloaded to mobile devices (primarily at base stations, but also to devices in the field) for later viewing when and as needed, or for onsite immediate reference (for instance, act as a refresh of service training workplace performance support). Field technicians, agents, and company representatives will record video or feed live content of incidents or situations back to the corporate office. Advertisers have gone mobile. According to a report on 2013 video trends, conducted by FreeWheel TV (recently purchased by Comcast), the number of video ads displayed on computer tablets almost tripled in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier, a growth rate that was 10 times faster than ads consumed at the desktop. The length of the content will be a diverse mix of short clips or modules and long-form programming. It needs to be suitable for the respective topic, audience, and business situation. The quality of video will vary, especially if it is employee-generated. However, the quality of video and production values will improve as producers become more skilled and viewers demand it. What will be the next great thing that helps to accelerate the significant growth in mobility? New form factors, devices, or apps? Google Glass and smartwatches have received a lot of attention recently. However, will they gain market share and have the necessary video capabilities? Google Glass can record video, take pictures, and display information on the screen much like a computer. It is also anticipated to be good for mobile learning, performance support, location awareness, and is of particular interest for healthcare education, reference, and consultation. Avegant s Glyph and the Oculus Rift are other eyewear that show promise in the virtual and augmented-reality space. Glyph is a headset that performs as personal theater glasses with high-quality video and audio. Rift is an immersive, responsive, look-around-you, virtual-reality headset that is primarily targeted for gaming and could be good for simulation training. Smartwatches have a variety of functionality. However, they will likely be of most value as an extension to the smartphone and mobile devices, where video and other content will be displayed. The greatest challenges with mobility in the enterprise will not be unique to video. IT and network organizations will continue to struggle with the time, processes, and resources necessary to select from the vast number and variety of available technology and applications, and implement them into the ecosystem. Social Media Collaborating, Sharing, and Interaction Enhanced with Video We have the devices and access to the content we want. We share the content, interact with the source and each other, and collaborate on activities and projects. Social media, led by Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Google Plus+ and Tumblr, enables socialization and empowers individuals to be informed, entertained, and connected. According to SocialMediaToday.com, 93 percent of marketers use social media for their business and video is a growing part of their strategies. By 2014, 90% of all Web traffic will be video-based and will account for 58% of all business Internet traffic in 2017, according to Cisco. 3 In addition, there is a trend toward sharing via video rather than text-based content. YouTube, with over a billion monthly visitors (more than six times the closest competitors Netflix and Vimeo), may soon be challenged for growth in video consumption by traditional text-based social media companies. Facebook accepts videos up to twenty minutes in length and encourages viewers to become engaged by asking questions about videos, creating conversations, and requesting viewers to upload response videos directly to Facebook rather than YouTube or other sites. Vine is a mobile app that lets users create and post short videos. The clips are limited to six seconds and can be shared over other social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Instagram has advanced beyond its photo service to support shareable video. It supports video clips up to 15 seconds, allows users to create filters, and can be shared over social network services, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. The short clips from both Vine and Instagram can be used for introducing or featuring new product features, how-to videos, and event teasers or invitations. Although you can only link to videos on Twitter, hash tags, and retweeting can maximize exposure to popular video clips. Google Hangout is an instant messaging service that has expanded to include video chats of up to ten people. Through Google Hangout, video can be embedded and shared on-screen. Then the clips can be shared across other social media sites. 3 The Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast (2012-2017) 4
As Instagram and Vine have proven, there is great value in short (15-second) and even shorter (six-second) video clips. Facebook hosts long-form content with videos up to twenty minutes. YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia, Sprout Video, and Brightcove, viable Web-hosting services for business video accept content of various lengths. The fact is that the length of video content shared via the Internet can vary widely. This is exemplified by the top ads (commercials) for 2013, where only a couple were the traditional 30 seconds and a number of them exceeded 3 minutes. Most of them went viral leveraging social media. Also, enterprise organizations are repurposing video content into modules of various lengths to meet the needs of viewers on disparate channels. Regardless of the media channel, to be effective the content must be relevant and targeted to the right audience. This applies to content for social media channels as well as digital signage and video-based communications and learning content distributed over proprietary enterprise channels. The Cloud Critical Role to Make Video Content Available and Easily Accessible Mobility and social media may be the rage, but it s the infrastructure and services that make it possible: For the distribution and management of content via the public Internet as well as proprietary enterprise networks (intranets), the Cloud and Cloud services have become the de facto standard. The Internet is a giant network of unmanaged networks. However, the Cloud is a managed resource, where vendors provide the infrastructure and 24/7 support services that enable enterprises to implement applications over the Internet or private networks, which can be terrestrial-wired or wireless or satellite. View the Cloud and other elements of video distribution channels as critical components of an entire enterprise-wide video communication and learning ecosystem. The objective is for the organization to have the tools and systems to create, manage, and deliver video. Get the content to strategically placed repositories where employees and other targeted audiences can easily access it: at the desktop or via a mobile device. The most efficient and effective approach is to leverage a combination of technologies by using a hybrid solution. The approach will vary widely amongst organizations but should be based on specific business models, (e.g., a retailer with hundreds of stores in metropolitan areas may have different requirements and challenges than a nationwide financial company with thousands of branch offices, a regional power company, or manufacturing company.) The solution may include maintaining active video content on private-hosted servers as well as having content available via a Content Delivery Network (CDN) provider. In addition, many organizations that rely heavily on video for communications and learning will have media devices at each business location. Content is delivered live over the enterprise satellite or terrestrial network and/or downloaded to the devices for on-demand viewing. The content in each of the local repositories may vary significantly, based on the target audience for the specific delivery channel, urgency of the message, and frequency of viewing. Outdated content should be removed from the active systems and directed to offline storage for archiving. For maximum benefit, the hybrid solutions should be well-integrated and interoperable. This will ensure that content can be moved efficiently across internal and external channels and be readily available to targeted users for viewing anywhere, anytime. 5
Summary Video is a powerful tool for communicating the message and managing change. Your audience will retain more information and get more from the messages when they watch you deliver it. Whether it s new hires, regional managers, or even corporate headquarters staff, they hear your words and they can see the passion and commitment of your presentation, which deepens their belief and motivates them to action. Leaders need to talk to the people on the front lines and share the how and the why any change will help to further drive the business. Training reps and CSR professionals in how to use the new systems and work the new programs is not enough they need to buy into the changes and become committed to such, in order to maximize success. They need to see and hear your message. Leverage the new media and innovative technologies to create, distribute and share video content. Identify and implement the right blend of mobile, social media and the Cloud into your organizations video ecosystem to reach targeted audiences and improve business value. About the Authors Randy Palubiak President, Enliten Management Group, Inc. Randy is an industry analyst, a media business strategist and author of Digital Touch Points: How to Gain a Competitive Advantage Using Video and Dynamic Media, 2013. Mike Tippets Vice President, Media Services, Hughes Network Systems Mike is responsible for the development and delivery of managed services, software applications, and other solutions based on digital media technologies. Follow Mike s blog about digital media at business.hughes.com/blogs/digital-media. For additional information, please call 1-888-440-7126 or visit business.hughes.com/enterprise. Proprietary Statement All rights reserved. This publication and its contents are proprietary to Hughes Network Systems, LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of Hughes Network Systems, LLC, 11717 Exploration Lane, Germantown, Maryland 20876. 2014 Hughes Network Systems, LLC. Hughes is a registered trademark of Hughes Network Systems, LLC. All information is subject to change. All rights reserved. 11717 Exploration Lane Germantown, MD 20876 USA H52445 MAY 14