You’ve probably heard of the term Cloud Video. But what does it mean? What is the cloud, and how does it affect your video experience? And further, how does it compare with traditional video? Here are some quick tips that can help you understand the differences.
Cloud video is an application service that is software based specifically for video conferencing. All the participants can join via different types of clients or hardware endpoints, from desktop to mobile devices. Basically, anyone who can access a web browser can join a video call. The end user experience is the focus, with a strive to make simple and easy video calls possible to anyone.
On premise video is hardware oriented as opposed to software (cloud). In this case, the user owns the hardware, and has physical systems interconnected to support that solution, usually in a scalable configuration. These can connect different geographical locations and regions, but on premise video is more oriented towards the room hardware endpoints. This is commonly generalized as “traditional video” and is focused on how to make a physical meeting room available and interconnect different locations.
What should you consider when comparing cloud and on premise video?
- Type of users – what is your user base, how do they behave, and how do they want to interact with video?
- Number of users – SMB organizations that have less than 150 users are easy and quick to deploy cloud solutions to. When the number grows above that, we either want to look at an on premise or hybrid environment (on premise + cloud in the same environment) that will best suit that business’ overall needs.
Which option is better for you?
It all depends on the business goals – if the business wants the regular user to feel enabled and connected, the cloud is the easiest and most feasible. Cloud is easy to deploy, and easy to train. On premise solutions require more design, engineering and training to ensure it’s working to its fullest potential.
When it’s time to start thinking about your company’s video strategy, you want to think about what your needs are today, and how you envision your usage trends to grow over the next 3 years. This will help determine how you want your users to interact with video, and what type of infrastructure investment your team may be willing to make. Be sure to engage your solutions provider early in the conversation, as their experience and product knowledge will ensure the right choice is made for your organization.
