I think we've just begin to scratch the surface when it comes to video in the enterprise.

Sure, you'll find some interesting applications in some sectors like education and medicine. And on the business process side, learning and training are seeing heavier use than ever before.

A Bit Role?

But despite all the talk about video being ubiquitous now, video has so far only played a bit role in the enterprise.  Nearly all the attention is focused on teleconferencing as supposedly the killer use case, given its potential to cut travel costs and enhance team collaboration.

However, that really misses the transformative potential of video. Video can be potentially very valuable when tightly integrated with business processes.

Integrated Video

What do I mean by “tightly integrated?" Let me illustrate with an example from the world of Case Management: when it comes to claims processing in insurance, any relevant documents attached to a claim become a core part of that business process through different stages of a workflow. Documents are not treated as a content item separate from the other data and details but considered part and parcel of the processing. And more importantly, the toolset is architected in such way to facilitate this.

Now, I can think of many ways in which the use and embedding of video can enhance the user experience and cut down costs. Business processes around returns and replacement of goods still under warranty can be simplified by use of video without the customers having to physically return the damaged goods. Use of video in technical support for customers is another such example. You and I could imagine many more examples in sales, marketing, and customer support across industries.

In short, the role of video need not be limited to just accompanying text and images on a website; video can play a central role in a business process. 

Beyond the Media Silo

But before that happens our tools should stop treating video as a separate piece of content that gets managed in its own silo (often a Media Asset Management system). Content and document platforms should enable gracefully embedding video in workflows similar to how case management tools handle documents in the context of a business process.

Increasingly, your customers are not just passive content consumers but active creators of content, carrying sophisticated video creation equipment, a.k.a., smartphones. Smart enterprises can take advantage by considering video a first-class object in their business processes.