For Microsoft, ROI is King

Like other enterprises, Microsoft must justify large streaming media expenditures with comparable returns on investment. Yet, some ROIs are more easily measured than others. Aldridge notes, "Instead of holding a training session in Denver where I had to fly in 500 people, house them, find a facility and produce it all, I can now do that on the Web and save all those costs … and actually free up their travel time. Those are quantifiable costs. But beyond that is the intangible that you can't quantify, which is how much better equipped you are as a company because you can communicate quickly."

An example was demonstrated recently after Microsoft announced that its quarterly earnings would fall well below expectations. "Within a day or two of that announcement, Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates set up a live webcast [on the Microsoft intranet], sent out e-mail with a link to it, and immediately communicated to the company what was going on, and why this was essentially a bump in the road," Aldridge explains. "It was really critical to respond quickly to that scenario, and being able to communicate that on a [global] level, in that instantaneous a way, is something that only streaming can do."

This is a reality that is beginning to apply across industries, regardless of their technological or market focus. In the past year, the WMT product group has seen the focus of streaming media applications shift - inside and outside the company - from entertainment to the enterprise space. Matthias notes, "Twelve months ago, I would rarely, if ever, get a call from a customer at a Fortune 500 company about streaming. And I really wouldn't get that many calls from Microsoft salespeople either. Now I get calls daily, literally, from people who are committed to the technology and want to know the best way to do A, B or C. In my experience, I do not think that the majority of large companies are on the fence saying, ‘Show me the ROI.' I think they're bought in. They know it's there."

Future changes in the enterprise-streaming landscape will most likely be first experienced within forward-thinking companies like Microsoft, and may reflect changes in society as a whole. Carlisle points out, "Almost all training is moving online. You can put these [presentations] together quickly, deliver your message in a timely fashion, and address things in the marketplace that are salient now. Keeping up is becoming a full-time job."

Carlisle also envisions enterprise-streaming applications that most people haven't yet considered. For example, he asks, "If I have Internet access in my automobile, why shouldn't I be able to connect to some corporate site and get a technical briefing? If I'm a field sales person and I'm about to go to a pitch for a particular customer, why shouldn't I be able to call up the relevant stuff that I need to know right now and have that streamed to me in my automobile?"

Enterprise streaming is still in its infancy. Both in terms of quality and quantity, Microsoft is clearly ahead of the streaming media pack. As one of the two biggest players in the streaming media space, it's also true that Microsoft has much to gain by setting a fast pace. But its motivation for innovation notwithstanding, anyone searching for clues about the future of enterprise streaming might want to keep an eye on Microsoft's own backyard.

For related stories, go to www.streamingmedia.com/enterprise

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