We could begin this blog by establishing how the world is moving towards (and is being moved by) video. But then why state the obvious?

Chances are, you yourself watch at least one video within the first hour of waking up. Cisco estimates that by 2022, the video will account for 82% of all internet traffic. And we are not surprised.

The good news is that the enterprise of today is no stranger to the charms of video. Statistics reveal:

• Almost 85% of enterprises are using video for internal communication and 90% for training and education
• Almost 70% of enterprises have enabled their employees to create and share video content internally
• 45% of enterprises use video for recruiting and onboarding new employees
• 47% of enterprises are using video for sales enablement
• 48% of enterprises use video for customer success and on-boarding

Clearly, video is now an enterprise staple.

But, is your enterprise video platform delivering maximum impact? Features such as adaptive streaming, global CDN, basic analytics and basic security are common features across almost all enterprise video platforms.

So, how do you know if your video solution is robust enough to ensure high adoption and generate impact? Let’s take a look at some of the features that you should look for.

1. Crowdsourcing and Video

Crowdsourcing – not a term that comes to mind when we say ‘video’, is it? But it is a very relevant part of a dependable video platform.

One of the main expectations from a video portal in the enterprise is high adoption. But how can you ensure high adoption if there are only a fixed set of users responsible for promoting content?

Quite obviously, your enterprise video platform has to be more democratic. It has to allow users to record and upload videos on the platform easily. It has to enable live video streaming. And to top it all, it has to enable and allow all this without compromising on the quality of the content.

2. Live and on-demand video support

Live video consumption is growling wildly. Don’t take our word for it. Here is the data:

• 47% of live streaming video viewers worldwide are watching more live videos compared to a year ago
• The streaming industry is estimated to reach $124.6 billion by 2025

Couple this, along with the fact that 59% of executives would rather watch a video than reading text. Doesn’t live streaming support from your enterprise video platform then make complete and logical sense?

You also have the millennials to thank for the growing proliferation of live video streaming. This demographic (and those heavily influenced by them) are comfortable creating content in sessions that are broadcast live.

That does not mean that there is no place for recorded content. If you are smart about video solutions, you will recognize that having separate products for live streaming and for recorded video repository is not logical.

And, thus, while your enterprise video platform provides live streaming support, it also has to provide a seamless experience for watching recordings of those live events along with other on-demand videos.

3. eCDN

Having a robust Content Delivery Network is a staple for any good enterprise video platform. But does your video platform have eCDN capabilities?

Now, what is eCDN you ask? It is that magic bullet that helps you optimize bandwidth consumption. Since eCDN leverages caching servers inside the enterprise network, your workforce can enjoy an uninterrupted, high-quality streaming experience and not kill your network by hogging all the bandwidth. Say good-bye to your bandwidth worries.

4. Searchability

Google became the icon that it is today owing to this one feature – search. You don’t search for something anymore. You Google it.

And when Google did this, they did one more thing – they made us realize how important search and searchability is.

Today, we are more proficient in searching websites and documents for information than ever before. So why should your enterprise video platform be any different?

While your video platform might have search enabled, does it enable in-video search?

In short, while a user can find a complete video related to the topic they are searching for, namely by the title or additional external tags, can your video platform find ‘relevant portions’ of the video related to your search? An hour-long video may have only one 3-minute instance of relevance to the search. Search, at this level of granularity is now becoming a key aspect of video platforms.

5. Content organization

It is quite easy for your enterprise video platform to mutate into a veritable dump yard of videos. You record and upload videos and they get lost in an ever-growing pile … vegetating in the abyss of unseen videos. How do you prevent this from happening?

The answer lies simply in suitable content organization. It is this capability to organize content to allow the user to navigate this space intuitively and find and watch more videos. Your video platform can indeed reflect the knowledge map of your organization. And again, it should help your users find what they are looking for easily.

6. Virality

What makes videos viral? Is it solely the video content? The answer is ‘no’.

The video platform you use also contributes to video virality. Capabilities like p2p sharing, intelligent video recommendations, easily consumed notification, and access control mechanisms not only drive adoption but also enable the virality of your enterprise videos.

7. Engagement Analytics

“Without data, you are just another person with an opinion” – Doesn’t this make sense?

Having said this, almost all enterprise video platforms provide data on view counts and consumption trends. The question you need to ask is, “Is my platform providing me with actionable intelligence from the analytics?”

It is only when you go down to the micro information that the macro information makes sense. So, to optimize the content you are producing, you need access to engagement analytics.

It is video engagement analytics that provides answers to questions like “Which part of the video is most engaging”, and “which part gets skipped every time”. To video content authors, this information is worth its weight in gold.

8. External user support

Is your video platform a hallowed portal meant for the access of only a select few? Can people who are a part of your extended enterprise, such as your dealers, distributors, contractors, interns, etc. leverage the benefits of your video platform?

You need a platform that not only services the internal consumers but also the extended consumers capably. Simply because you might have users who are an integral part of your work process but are not part of your AD.

Why not provide this extended network a carefully controlled access to your videos? All you need is a smart video platform that has the right security and access control protocols in place.

It’s that simple. Really.

9. Integration with the existing ecosystem

‘Integration’, undoubtedly, is the name of the game today.

Would you invest in a platform or technology that did not seamlessly integrate with your existing enterprise application ecosystem? Chances are, you’ll say ‘no’. The case is no different when it comes to an enterprise video platform as well.

While your enterprise video platform must integrate with your organizational AD, it should also allow you to integrate key applications such as an intranet, LMS, Knowledge Management Portal etc. with it.

How does this help? Well, it helps your users view videos anytime, anywhere and not just within the work premises. Without this, don’t you think, an enterprise video strategy stands defeated?

Now that you have all the cards on the table, it’s time to get a robust enterprise video platform onboard.

Ready. Set. Record!