With both enterprise software sales and online video viewership on the rise, many companies big and small are touting video as a great new way to help your business promotion efforts and internal communications.
Social enterprise software sales are expected to reach an impressive $4.5 billion by 2016. In addition, ComScore reports that 37.7 billion online videos were watched in the U.S. in August 2012 alone.
So just what do these huge numbers mean? They mean plenty of companies are now offering platforms that draw on both the enterprise software trend and the online video trend. Companies of any size can use online video as a way to add multimedia content to their social media efforts and conduct internal communications like video newsletters, training sessions, product demonstrations, and more.
Check out these four companies -- from big-name contenders to newly formed startups -- that think online video can help your business:
1. Adobe
Adobe is already a big name in software development, but its newest release promises to help businesses turn their video streams into revenue streams. Adobe's Project Primetime is a unified video platform that promises to deliver TV-like viewing experiences across a multitude of devices, including iOS, Android, desktops, tablets, and Smart TVs.
Now available in beta, Project Primetime was first announced in February and offers a slew of tools for businesses to track their videos' performance, including audience management, analytics, and optimization technologies. Companies everywhere stand to benefit from Adobe's trusted software as they hop on the online video trend.
2. Kaltura
Kaltura offers the world's only open-source online video platform, essentially allowing companies to make their own corporate YouTube. Businesses can take advantage of Kaltura's Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform for internal communications and brand enhancement efforts across the Web.
Over 300,000 companies, organizations and websites already use Kaltura's platform worldwide, including Groupon. The startup, founded in 2006, just landed an additional $25 million in funding to continue development and fuel growth abroad. As this video company continues to expand, it stands to seriously impact the way businesses worldwide use online video to fuel growth.
3. Telefónica
In November, Telefónica, Spanish provider of broadband and telecommunications platforms, recently announced its new video platform in conjunction with Microsoft. The global video platform promises to unify video across all different parts of the world, offering multi-device capabilities.
Its video services can be accessed on a slew of devices, including Xbox 360, tablets, and smartphones. With first deployments in Brazil, Chile and Spain, the company hopes to reel in revenue of five billion euros by 2015. Keep your eye on this platform as it continues to reach companies and consumers globally.
4. latakoo
While not yet a big name like Adobe or Telefónica, Austin-based latakoo also stands to rev up the video industry in a major way. Targeting newsrooms that still use outdated technology to transfer video files, latakoo offers a solution that runs on a computer or mobile device. Its software compresses large video files to 1.5 percent to 5 percent of their original size while still maintaining quality and resolution.
TechCrunch reports that NBC Universal has been testing the service for a year now, and latakoo's services have already been widely used in the U.S. and Mexico. With $1.5 million in venture funding, latakoo is one video software company to watch.
As online video continues to shape our businesses and impact the way we communicate both across the enterprise and with target publics, companies like these stand to change the online video game in a major way. With tons of venture funding flowing into the industry and major companies already hopping on the video trend, businesses and consumers alike can expect some serious innovation in this space in 2013.