Common enterprise streaming infrastructure underpins the modern enterprise video strategy
The use of video for communication has been growing significantly over the past several years. In 2016 video accounted for 73% of all IP traffic, consumer and business, and is expected to grow at CAGR of 26% from 2016 to 2021. While internet video statistics are staggering, the growth of business video has been tracking at an even faster pace. U.S. adoption of enterprise video is up 14% in the past three years and enterprise viewership outside the U.S. was up 25% in just one year from 2015 to 2016.
This growing use of video inside the enterprise presents a new set of challenges for IT departments. Video transfer is bandwidth intensive, and the higher the quality (HD and Ultra-HD) or the more interactive (augmented reality and 360°) the more bandwidth it consumes. Most corporate networks are not adequately sized to handle the volume of video traffic coming from the cloud over the corporate internet connection nor the bandwidth consumed by video traversing far-reaching corners of the network.
An enterprise content delivery network (eCDN) is a layer of software or hardware infrastructure added to the corporate network that helps manage the distribution of bandwidth-intensive media. Organizations have a choice of five distinct approaches to deploying an eCDN and one size does not fit all. An explanation of these five approaches can be found in a new paper from Ramp entitled Video Distribution Behind the Firewall: Approaches for Deploying an Enterprise Content Delivery Network. This simple, non-technical primer introduces enterprise video stakeholders to networking concepts such as multicasting, peer-to-peer (P2) and enterprise video caching.
When deploying an eCDN, organizations should choose solutions that adhere to the principles of a common enterprise streaming infrastructure (CESI). A common enterprise streaming infrastructure is one that reliably optimizes the distribution of video from any video source, today and in the future, deploys and expands over time without requiring costly and labor-intensive network upgrades, and meets or exceeds enterprise security requirements. Another new paper from Ramp entitled Principles of a Common Enterprise Streaming Infrastructure: Five Considerations for Deploying an Enterprise Content Delivery Network offers a discussion of eCDN best practices and explains how a CESI-compliant solution allows IT departments to support enterprise video initiatives while maintaining an efficient network.
“The average organization is using multiple video platforms to address the wide variety of enterprise communication needs. Deploying an eCDN that serves as a common enterprise streaming infrastructure eliminates the need to deploy a distinct delivery solution for each streaming platform and is critical to ensuring quality of experience (QoE) for employees viewing both live broadcasts and video on demand,” said Tom Racca, Ramp CEO. “A common enterprise streaming infrastructure reliably and effectively distributes video, regardless of the streaming source, to viewers all across the corporate network.”
As companies embrace video for enterprise communications, they need to embrace a modern video strategy that meets the needs of the business today and anticipates the demands of tomorrow. An early partnership between business stakeholders and IT to select the right combination of solutions, architectures and technologies will ensure successful video delivery behind the firewall without introducing new concerns over network resources, scalability, and quality of experience. Visit ramp.com/CESI for more information about common enterprise streaming infrastructure.
About Ramp
Ramp specializes in optimizing the distribution of video behind the firewall to alleviate network congestion and significantly reduce bandwidth consumption. Ramp’s AltitudeCDN™ enterprise content delivery network (eCDN) is a suite of software solutions for multicasting and advanced video caching, two of the most effective approaches for managing the impact of live and on-demand video traffic on the corporate network. Including enterprise administration capabilities and real-time analytics for performance monitoring, AltitudeCDN is a common enterprise streaming infrastructure (CESI) that will optimize video from virtually all streaming platforms deployed within an organization. Many providers in our ecosystem of technology partners have tightly integrated AltitudeCDN with their platforms to simplify deployment and management of the combined video solution and provide a seamless solution that ensures the best viewing experience inside the enterprise
