Key figures about the usage and challenges of enterprise video from our streaming survey
StriveCast conducted a streaming survey about enterprise streaming, focusing on eCDN usage, EVP application, and changes tied to the COVID-19 outbreak. The results are revealing, for example, that almost every second enterprise is still struggling with streaming problems. In the following, we present the most important survey results and their conclusions.
The importance of live video streaming
Decentralized and in-house (live video) communication
Firstly, over-regional and hybrid working approaches paint a vivid picture of the consistently rising live streaming trend. According to these survey results, live corporate communication is used in a minimum of one office location by all participants.
Over 50% of the companies are using it in 10+ or all of their office locations. Further, the results show signs of a hybrid working approach in many enterprises. The participants stated that 61% still reach corporate communications from their physical office sites. But 63% mentioned that they access it through a VPN as well. Almost half of the participants stated that their corporate communication is further accessed through public Internet access. Taken together, live corporate communication within and between working sites is a prominent part of nowadays day-to-day business.
Tools and Applications of live video communication
What is more, the reported applications of live video communications have demonstrated an extent in live communication use cases. The application has shifted to a set of daily tasks as well as important one-time events. The four most commonly reported use cases of live video communication in enterprises are:
- Streaming virtual town hall meetings
- Sharing company-wide announcements
- Doing company-wide training sessions
- Holding regular meetings & collaboration
Interested in the detailed distribution of the most commonly used EVPs and applications? Click here and download our full survey results
The seemingly omnipresent streaming problems
To be more specific about these challenges: between 20-40% of the participants have reported that they frequently face streaming problems. To give a concrete overview, of our participants:
- 41% experienced issues with bad video or audio quality during live video streaming
- 30% reported long buffering times and stream stopping
- 30% experienced access or network connectivity problems
- 22% mentioned cancelling of an event due to technical issues
As one can imagine, these frequent problems are frustrating to all of the participants and organizers. What is more, they can also have inconvenient consequences as most companies reported to use their EVP to communicate rather important messages, pieces of training, and events.
Most of these problems seem to be caused by too much traffic. About 60% of the participants reported having faced Internet connectivity issues. In other words, there was too much traffic on the Internet connection or in the corporate network. Further, the participants reported other technical issues causing streaming problems. In general, the survey conveys: streaming problems and their sources are commonly known in all kinds of enterprises.
Get a detailed overview of corporate streaming challenges companies are facing: Click here and download our full survey results.
Nevertheless, streaming developments and challenges are not stopping here.
The COVID-19 streaming boom
The reported numbers have continuously demonstrated an exhilarated live streaming boom in 2020. In our survey, we asked about the participants’ personal views. As the results state, the rising trend has changed the participants’ expectations of the future. Most participants are strongly convinced that COVID-19 developments will sustain. One of the most obvious developments is that an increased number of people is working from home. The majority of participants also believe that there will be an increase in the use of (live) video communication to connect with employees in the long run. If these trends continue, companies should find efficient ways to solve their challenges regarding live video streaming.
eCDN - solving the problems connected to live video streaming?
Free-up you bandwidth with an eCDN solution
The most common sources of streaming problems, as can be seen in the survey as well, are unprecedented amounts of traffic within a corporate network. The increase in traffic is hijacking bandwidth requirements and hitting bandwidth limits. Optimizing the system behind the content distribution within the corporate network can improve the streaming problems significantly.
An eCDN serves to manage and optimize media content distribution within the company’s corporate network. Therefore, it is an instance to optimize when trying to overcome streaming challenges related to data distribution problems. Standard eCDNs make use of cache techniques and various distribution points to offload the traffic. By reducing the number of requests that directly go to the origin server, bandwidth requirements can be shortened. There are various new approaches to eCDN optimization. One of them is StriveCast’s P2P eCDN technology.
P2P eCDN the next-level solution
A P2P eCDN integrates the viewers into content distribution to make it more efficient. Users are put together into logical user groups (peers) based on their network and proximity. When requesting content, the user’s device first checks for available peers to deliver the content. If this is the case, the content will be provided without connecting to the origin server. This way, content is quickly and easily shared among the users, which results in fewer bandwidth requirements and a faster, high-quality streaming experience.
Tipp: Learn more about the technology behind a P2P eCDN on our technology page.
Conclusion: find the problem, find a solution
The increasing use of enterprise video streaming is still troubling many companies on the technical side. As these challenges will continue to exist, companies need to act now. Enterprises need to implement a solution for efficient video streaming that satisfies their employees, customers, and partners. Video streaming is a communication tool that is still increasing its importance. Therefore, there is no getting around finding a more efficient solution, such as a company fitted eCDN. Furthermore, it is essential to understand the current developments to get ready for the future.
To read in detail about all survey results, and get further insights on the topic, download our full survey report below.