According to MarketsandMarkets, the global enterprise video market size is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.3% from USD 16.4 billion to USD 25.6 billion by 2025. Today, video is considered as one of the most compelling forms of communication and leading organizations are embracing it as part of their marketing campaigns, internal training and knowledge building exercises . To best streamline the video publishing workflow, organizations are considering business video hosting solutions capable of handling multiple use cases that can fit into their technology stack. In this blog, we cover everything you need to know about video hosting for businesses and why you should opt for one.
What are Business Video Hosting Platforms?
Business video hosting platforms are video hosting solution that help enterprises store, manage and monetize their massive volume of audio/video content securely in the cloud. These platforms are also enabled to share them across a variety of devices and platforms over the internet when necessary. Video hosting services generally include an array of content management tools, mission critical security features, delivery and playback features. It also includes specialized tools for sales, marketing, lead generation, and internal training for making corporate communication seamless
Did you Know: 87% of marketing professionals use video as a marketing tool
What are the Features of a Business Video Hosting Platform?
There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to narrowing down on the ideal business video hosting services for enterprises. Every company has its unique business requirements to fulfill constrained by budgets, marketing strategies, etc. However, there are certain go-to features that an enterprise must keep check for hosting videos. They are:
1. Video Security Features
As an enterprise, keeping content secure is crucial as you have to deal with a huge volume of intellectual data, especially when you’re sharing internal meetings or webinar videos. Nearly 83% of enterprises cite video security as the primary influencer in their purchase decision. There are several video security features available on enterprise grade video hosts.
Firewall– A firewall is a primary security feature used by video hosting platforms to filter out malicious traffic and block cyber attacks directed at valuable data/assets by passing them through a series of predefined security filters on all data packet exchanges. A firewall blocks DDoS attacks, malicious bot activity, and vulnerability exploits.
Muvi Server secures all your valuable content by providing advanced security measures like server-side security and firewall, and storage protection.
Data encryption– Encryption is a security methodology used by business video hosting solutions to prevent unauthorized access by encoding data and assets with the use of a cipher. It utilizes a unique encryption key and algorithms to encode readable data, and gives access to recipients who have the specific decryption key.
Studio-Approved DRM– A Studio Approved DRM-enabled video hosting solution safeguards your content from piracy and ensures that video content is stored and transmitted in an encrypted form, allowing only authorized users and devices with playback capabilities.
Our secure cloud streaming server software integrates with a number of studio-approved DRM providers for on-the-fly encryption, protecting and securing your live streams .
To know more about DRM read our blog Secure Live Streaming: How to Protect your Content with DRM
Watermarking– Considered as an essential security feature for a video streaming service, watermarking deters video pirates from using hardware and software pirating tools like screen capture software and devices to record your content and distribute them illegally.
IP and Geographic Restrictions– Opting for an enterprise video hosting platform entails video streaming with secure IP and geographic restrictions so that your video is only distributed to pre-defined countries of your choice.
2. Encoding and Transcoding Tools
Encoding and transcoding are essential functions performed by video hosting solutions to compress and decompress your video into variable renditions for smooth playback on various devices. We recommend looking for a solution that has cloud video streaming and transcoding for VOD content coupled with adaptive bitrate streaming to cater to a varied range of customers irrespective of their bandwidth availability, network conditions and playback device capabilities.
Also Read: Cloud Video Encoding vs On-Premise : Pros, Cons and Beyond
3. Multi-CDN
Most video streaming platforms will not give you the option of multi-CDN streaming thus narrowing down on your search for the same. It’s an indispensable feature if you are looking to distribute your video across all corners of the globe. A multi-CDN option allows routing of your content to the most optimal server located closest to the user requesting it, thus ensuring lower latency and faster delivery of your content.
Since this option offers reliable alternative strategies against outages and DDoS attacks by intelligently switching traffic to other available CDNs when one is down, this feature is rapidly gaining momentum amongst enterprises looking to expand their business worldwide.
Muvi Server can integrate with leading CDN providers like Amazon AWS, Akamai, etc to provide a multi-CDN delivery leading to low latency content delivery across the globe.
4. HTML5 Video Player
Business video hosting requires an online video player that is compatible across all devices including laptops, PCs, mobiles, tabs and smart TVs, as device restrictions would limit your audience. In such a scenario, an HTML5 online video player befits the above requirements as it is both customizable and compatible across all devices and browsers.
5. Multiple Monetization
Monetization is another desirable option for business video hosting. Make sure you choose a hosting service that enables multiple monetization models including subscriptions, ad-based and PPV as per your business requirements.
Also Read: Video Monetization Options- What to Choose?
6. 24-Hour Support
Businesses today have different use cases that require instant response from the service providers. So, while looking for a video streaming platform, don’t forget to check out the business video hosting platform trial support services. A ticket-based 24-hour support system is a necessity for enterprises as technical glitches encountered while running the video streaming platform have to be addressed on-the-fly. Make sure the video hosting solution you choose offers a 24X7 support system via different modes like ticket system, email, live chat, online video tutorials, phone support, urgent and critical call requests, etc.
Some Questions to Ask:
- Is the support system chargeable?
- Do they have a critical call request option?
- Does the vendor offer SLA-driven support?
Also Read: Muvi Helps Twisted Mirror Deliver Flawless Streaming Experience on Web & Mobile Devices
7. API
In order to customize your video hosting experience you will be needing video and player APIs from your video hosting provider. APIs are crucial in business video hosting as they foster maximum customization capabilities when it comes to optimizing the workflow of a video streaming platform.
Wrapping Up,
Choosing the perfect business video hosting platform differs from one organization to another, depending on specific business requirements and varying use-cases. Enterprises generally want to scale, deploy multiple monetization models and prioritize enhanced security features. We would advise you to make a checklist of your video streaming goals for identifying which features are non-negotiable for you.
Not sure where to start? Take a 14-Day Free Trial of Muvi Server to test our video hosting platform exclusively designed to help enterprises create professional-grade video broadcasts.
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