Before we start, stop searching for “The Best Video Streaming Platform.” Because nothing like that exists.
Enterprises are intrigued and baffled by the myriad of video streaming platforms available in the market currently. If one promises to offer you the best video hosting suite, someone else promises to stream your live videos from silicon valley to mount Everest. Beguiled by the fancy setup and alluring promises, businesses often fail to realize that there is no best video streaming platform as such. It’s all about which one suits an enterprise the most and lets them perform the critical business tasks under budget.
Immediate attention, easy shareability, customized communication, and increased conversion rate are among the primary benefits of video marketing on which enterprises are thriving. According to research, 87% of businesses use video as a marketing tool for audience engagement and conversion purposes. With the numbers comes the responsibility. Responsibility to host enterprise video assets securely and distribute them reliably.
So, instead of searching for the best video streaming platform, look for a solution that offers resiliency as you grow and agility as you scale. Here are the top questions you must ask and must-have features to look out for in an enterprise video hosting platform ideal for all businesses.
Categorizing the Modules of Enterprise Video Streaming Platform
When you believe in video marketing to market your business, the first thing you must seek is an end-to-end platform because you may not want to waste time piecing together multiple vendors for a full-fledged streaming engine. You must look for a platform that has ingesting (uploading & encoding), deploying (transcoding, transrating, transmuxing), delivering (security, CDN, Player) capabilities. In addition, ensure the platform supports multiple monetization methods and consists of user features, marketing suite, content management to help you scale. Here’s how you can broadly classify the modules.
Core Features: Ingestion, Deployment, Delivery, Security,
Business Features: Branding & Marketing, Billing & Monetization, Content Management, Admin Features
Core Features of Enterprise Video Streaming Platform:
Ingestion
You will be uploading innumerable videos as you grow. So, although the content ingestion process looks basic, it can be a real patience-tester. You must enquire if the content ingestion can be done through multiple devices. For example, you should be able to upload video, audio, image everything using a mobile device, a PC, or a Mac. Most importantly, ensure you can bulk import files with both HTTP and FTP support.
| Several factors such as compression process, frame rate, etc. impact the video quality. Resolution highly influences the viewing experience, especially on larger screens.
Deployment
Though you are not expected to know everything in detail in this space, it’s wise to have a high-level understanding of the architectural capabilities of the platform you are opting for. Here are the top questions you need to ask your vendor on the deployment capabilities.
Delivery
Shorter video startup times and zero buffering are the prerogatives of any video marketer. An enterprise-grade video hosting platform must ensure faster adaptive delivery with caching and delivering HTTP video content at a flat-rate price, reducing bandwidth costs.
Security
When you host, stream, and distribute your copyrighted video assets globally, it’s natural for you to worry about their vulnerability. Content protection has been a challenge in the broadcasting industry before, but with the advent of security standards like Digital Rights Management, SSL encryption, etc., things are now under control. Your video streaming platform must manage the security aspects of your content with minimal fuss. It would be best if you stayed on top of some fundamental yet essential industry practices meant for content security.
Business Features of Enterprise Video Streaming Platform:
Branding & Marketing
An ideal enterprise video hosting platform gives you the utmost liberty to set the look and feel of your White-labeled Video Streaming Website or digital store. While white labeling of websites, players are table stakes, the platform must equip you with a range of branding and marketing features that helps you stay ahead of the curve.
Billing & Monetization
If you want to run a subscription business out of your video stores like Netflix or Prime, the billing and monetization module is the most critical module among non-core features. To run a successful video subscription business, you need a plethora of features to connect and communicate with your subscribers, such as subscriber inventory management, managing pricing plans, easy & flexible payment options, billing notification system, in-app purchase capability, multiple payment gateway support and more. Here’s a complete list of questions your vendor needs to answer.
Content Management
The denser the content library more is the need to ensure discoverability and categorization. As an admin, you must have complete freedom to arrange the content of your platform as per your suitability. It must empower you with a powerful dynamic search feature that would let you access any content in a click with multiple filters such as publishing date, search with metatags, category, duration, most played, etc.
Admin Features
An enterprise video streaming platform offers multiple roles and permissions to control both content and users using the platform. As an admin, you must control who can add or remove content, modify content, change the distribution particulars or general setting, etc. Ideally, it should offer you a role-based access ecosystem where the principal admin can dictate the backend operations with ample flexibility.
In the End, Look for Support Services
All video streaming platforms are by default not finished. These are built to enable businesses certain activities and undergo enhancements with time. However, customizations and enhancements are two completely different things. Most of the OTT platforms force customers to adapt to their workflow and capabilities. However, it’s a flawed approach as businesses today have different use cases that require agility from the service providers. So, while looking for a video streaming platform, don’t forget to check out the vendor’s support services.
Questions | Yes/No | With Muvi |
Is support chargeable? | | Checkout Muvi Support |
| Does the platform have a Self-Help section? | | Yes. Checkout Muvi Help |
| Does the vendor offer SLA-based support? | | Yes. Did you know Initial Response Time with Muvi for an Enterprise customer ticket is 30 minutes-the fastest in the industry? Know about Muvi SLA |
| Is there a community available for discussion? | | Yes. Take a look at Muvi Community |
| Do they offer Professional Services? | | Yes. Checkout Muvi Professional Services |
Wondering What are Your Options? Check the Decision Tree.
We hope you have a clearer idea of choosing the best video streaming platform for your business. If you are starting out, take a 14-Day Free Trial of Muvi (No Credit Card required) and decide if it has all the features you need for your venture. If not, which is highly unlikely as Muvi is equipped with 100+ unique features, feel free to give us a shout-out at sales@muvi.com, and we will get in touch with you.
However, if you’ve already built out your video infrastructure and are looking to scale, let our team ensure you are following the best practices. Contact us.
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