MediaPlatform Simplifies Enterprise Video with Flash

"We're seeing a lot of large enterprises moving from traditional Windows Media Multicast technology to Flash Multicast technology," said Erik Herz, director of business development for MediaPlatform, an enterprise video software company. Herz was interviewed at the recent Streaming Media West conference in Los Angeles.

While streaming video to employees within a large corporation used to mean relying on Microsoft Windows Multicast technology, Herz says his company changes that, allowing enterprises to use the same Flash Video systems for internal use as they're already using on the Web.

"What we tell them is, it should be Flash both outside the firewall and inside the firewall, whether you're streaming out over Akamai to tens of thousands of people or whether you're streaming via Multicast to tens of thousands of people internally," said Herz.

The move to Flash, curiously, is driven partly by strong Apple iPad use. Companies want to deliver rich media experiences on the iPad, and Adobe's server is able to take one H.264 video source and package it as a Flash stream for the desktop or an HLS stream for the iPad. Viewers are automatically directed to the correct stream for their device.

In fact, Herz sees iPad use driving growth for enterprise video in 2012. He's heard from several Fortune 500 companies that they're deploying iPads to their entire sales teams and want to use them for video presentation to potential customers.

Corporate IT is changing, Herz notes, from a locked down world to one where people can connect freely with their own devices.

Webcasting live events outside the firewall is another trend for enterprise video in 2012, Herz adds. Companies now have the ability to stream events on their own, with little complexity or cost. They no longer have to hire a professional crew for live events, which brings the costs down greatly.

Scroll down to view the entire interview.

These Streaming Media Red Carpet Interviews are sponsored by Front Porch Digital.

Troy Dreier's article first appeared on OnlineVideo.net