Eyes on the Enterprise

In today’s market, it’s clear that the use of streaming media technology, applications, and appliances has dramatically changed. Informed and empowered customers who are seriously looking at the opportunities that streaming media offers within their enterprise organization now drive the industry. For enterprises, the question is no longer can you afford to use streaming media technology, but rather, can you afford not to?

"Today, companies are realizing they can either make money or save money by using streaming media technology," says Tim Napoleon, director of business development for VitalStream, the streaming media service provider that leads off this StreamingMedia.com Enterprise White Paper. We’re as convinced as he is that streaming media is a win-win for enterprise applications, offering return on investment both tangible, in the form of profits and cost- or time-savings, and intangible, in the form of more effective information-sharing that boosts both employee and client confidence.

Though most of what you read in the press focuses on the consumer end of streaming media applications—news providers delivering breaking stories with streaming video, radio stations expanding their reach via Internet audio—the fact remains that streaming media is making a bigger impact within enterprise organizations than in any other vertical market. It may not be the sexiest use of the technology when compared to the gaming, music, and movie industries, but there’s no denying the tremendous capabilities it gives corporations to communicate more efficiently and effectively.

To be truly effective, streaming media systems must work in concert with other collaborative technologies. Enterprise organizations proactively address this integration with a sharp eye on the business value, whether corporate or media-focused, that streaming media offers. This convergence demands seamless integration to move enterprise-class systems and solutions to the next level. It’s time for the industry to recognize this—and that is what Enterprise Streaming Solutions is all about. Many of the vendors that you’ll read about on the following pages have dedicated solutions that solve specific problems corporations face on a daily basis.

Streaming Media Comes of Age
Today, we have strong indicators of the use and growth of streaming media-based applications within the enterprise. In a recent survey conducted by StreamingMedia.com and the Aberdeen Group, 74.1% of business and personal users access streaming media at least two to three times per week.

And while streaming media is used for many purposes, our survey concluded that Web conferencing and webcasting lead in business applications with 40.3% and 46.2% current usage, respectively. Look for those numbers to grow to 64.7% and 72.1%, respectively, by the end of 2004.