Convincing Your Boss You Need Streaming Media

Complexity
In the past, industry literature tended to speak of streaming media in terms of an "event," such as a Webcast, concert, or a conference. Service provider companies formed that traveled to the event location, set up complex equipment, and managed the technology. Of course, they charged for this service, and a single "event" could easily cost $50,000 or more.

Today, complexity has given way to a high degree of automation and simplicity, allowing virtually anyone to stream audio/video within an enterprise and on the public Internet. Challenges still exist in the networking infrastructure, but these challenges are not dissimilar to ones that a company’s IT staff must overcome with or without streaming media. Streaming media just makes those challenges more apparent. To convince your boss that the complexity is low, you might consider showing a demo.

Content Quality
Streaming media is not an answer; it is a means to an end. It is the means to deliver meaningful content to an intended audience for a purpose. That purpose may be to educate, inform, or entertain—the same as it is with conventional television. The difference is that the content is up to you, and, of course, that the content reaches where conventional closed-circuit television does not…the workplace, the schoolroom, and, indeed, the world.

When you think of streaming media in terms of "a special event," the production value of the content may be a concern. Certainly, a company’s marketing department will want promotional videos to have high production value to hold the audience’s interest. But when you think about live, casual, daily streaming within an enterprise or to a specific audience, the production values are less worrisome. Whether live or stored, content may range from video shot inside of any conference room, training facility, or office to video shot in a set within a studio, complete with special effects. Content may be a live classroom lecture, an investor presentation, or a security camera feed, or it may be a slick video that you produced on an offline video-editing suite. Content may be a 24/7 live newsfeed delivered to every desktop, an emergency broadcast channel, a security camera feed, mandated human resource training on demand, or an endless variety of demonstrations, lectures, and entertainment. My point is that different types of content require different levels of quality. Don’t assume you need Hollywood-style quality for every kind of content you own. Sometimes good enough is good enough.

One way to demonstrate your content is to put your best company spokesman in front of the camera and stream his or her presentation to your intended audience. (Perhaps your boss himself would be appropriate "talent.") Using in-house talent also strengthens group cohesiveness and morale. Deploying streaming media is not just a technical or financial exercise—it would be foolish to try to deploy any system without first getting "buy in" from the organizations or departments that would benefit most. Most people quickly grasp the power and benefit of streaming media when they use it and see it, so you might convince your boss by demonstrating it to your marketing, sales, training, customer service, and other departments.

The Bottom Line
Today, streaming media is as valuable a business tool as email, the telephone, and other forms of modern communications. It can be just as simple and easy, but more compelling. Probably the best way to convince your boss that streaming media is ready for prime time in your company is to demonstrate it right now.