This article originally appeared in the January 2011 issue of INTERNET TELEPHONY
Video follows audio like day follows night.
This is a maxim that we frequently mention in our research work at Interactive Media Strategies (News - Alert) as we try to convey the inevitability of video communications adoption in the corporate sector.
After all, history clearly demonstrates that video is the natural destination for virtually any evolving medium of communications.
In mass media, television supplanted radio as the broadcast realm of choice. In the world of optical media storage, video-rich DVDs emerged as the next step beyond the music delivery medium of compact discs. More recently, even iPods have rapidly graduated from their initial role in music distribution to broader aspirations of shuttling video content to end users.
And, so, as we look to the corporate communications environment, it’s only natural to contemplate the next step beyond the realm of voice over IP. While no one can dispute the continued strength and vibrancy of the overall market for enterprise deployment of VoIP solutions, video looms as a new frontier with the promise to transform the way we all communicate during our work days.
With this future in mind, we’re creating a conference forum dedicated to raising awareness and understanding of how video can productively be implemented in the corporate environment. It’s called the Business Video Expo and will be held on a co-located basis with the ITEXPO (News - Alert) show to be held Feb. 2 through Feb. 4, 2011 in Miami, Fla.
Our goal is to bring together thought leaders from the business video sector to discuss the key issues influencing corporate decisions on how to best invest in video-enriched communications solutions. Rather than talking in general platitudes about the promise for democratizing video for the corporate masses – as we have seen at some other trade shows – we seek to foster discussion of the real issues most relevant to executives actually in the trenches of video deployment.
Whether companies are implementing the technology to communicate more effectively behind the corporate firewall or deploying the technology as a way to reach more customers in a more engaging way on the public web, executives do encounter a raft of issues that must be addressed as they select and roll out video communications solutions. Certainly, any company serious about leveraging video to enhance business operations cannot be cavalier in selecting solutions that enable the creation, capture, management and distribution of video content.
We’re designing conference sessions at the Business Video Expo specifically to address some of the hottest topics today among the growing cadre of professionals involved in the daily task of weaving video more seamlessly into the set of technology options available to business communicators. Taking all of the sessions together, the conference program reads like a detailed primer for understanding the key trends shaping the entire workflow for adopting video solutions in the corporate sector.
One key trend to be discussed at the Business Video Expo, for instance, focuses on the proliferation of video cameras and associated video editing solutions. With the sprawl of capture and creation options for video, executives need help in sorting out the options that will be most productive for developing viable content for business use.
From this discussion of video creation, we expand into topics that emerge once companies are actively distributing the content they develop. One session at the Business Video Expo will focus on innovative marketing applications for video. Other discussions later drill into this topic more deeply by focusing on best practices for integrating video with social media platforms and leveraging video to enhance search engine rankings.
Also of interest to any new student of the business video market space will be detailed discussions of considerations that should come into play when deciding how and why to deploy live video and on-demand alternatives. Still more sessions will focus on emerging software solutions categories that simplify corporate deployment of video. Key issues that will be highlighted in Business Video Expo discussions include overviews of key trends in video content management, business video analytics, and the implementation of video applications in the mobile environment.
Clearly, we have a lot to talk about at the upcoming conference. While we see the evolution of video in the corporate sector as inevitable, only companies that take the time to learn about the technology will be positioned to build competitive advantage from its implementation.
Organizations that build cost-efficient, effective platforms for video communications will be able to deliver dynamic messages to employees and outside stakeholders. And better communications translates into better business.
Steven Vonder Haar (News - Alert) is research director of Interactive Media Strategies and the programming chair of the Business Video Expo.
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Business Video Expo will be held on a collocated basis with the ITEXPO show to be held Feb. 2 through Feb. 4, 2011 in Miami, Fla.
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Edited by Stefania Viscusi
