Socialising at work is an integral part of life; the value of personal contact between colleagues, managers and business partners cannot be understated. Numerous studies have shown that this so-called “watercooler culture” is integral in fostering bonds and forming connections — evoking a shared identity among colleagues.

Since 2020, however, that element of working has had to take a back seat.

Enforced lockdowns, social distancing and remote working policies meant that colleagues could no longer physically interact. Instead, companies had to accelerate their digitisation strategies and adopt alternative collaboration platforms, such as multi-geography virtual events, screen sharing, whiteboarding, easily accessible webinars and text chat channels alongside video content.

These technologies and the bedding-down of remote and hybrid working patterns have changed the business landscape irrevocably. And while the phrase “the new normal” may have been used extensively, as the younger generations move into the workforce, the “new normal” is becoming plain old…normal.

In this new world of work without the constant availability of human contact, the demand for immersive, multimedia experiences has risen. In fact, video has become such an integral part of life that employees now expect quality video streaming experiences in both their personal and professional environments. Companies have recognised this demand and are now turning to digital media to change the way they typically communicate with employees by bringing all their touchpoints online, from pre-onboarding of new staff through to mass meetings and town halls, daily collaboration and video conferencing.

As part of these digitisation strategies (which have undoubtedly been accelerated in the last 24 months), organisations are beginning to build their own resources: libraries of audio and visual, teaching materials, engagement media and messaging of all types destined for internal and external use. However, this has placed a great deal of strain on infrastructure, especially since collaborative platforms that use video and rich media have high standards to live up to in terms of ease-of-use, uptime, quality of stream, and of course data privacy and adherence to information governance. There are also a myriad of problems with the status quo: sharing video files via Google Drive might be quick and cheap but it’s hardly reliable (nor particularly professional) at scale, while shared directories on the LAN can act as very basic repositories but are not fit-for-purpose for anything other than archiving.

Since more companies are turning to video distribution, streaming, delivery and library management solutions, managing video platforms and content libraries has had to evolve – which is exactly where a company like Brightcove comes in.

Since the company was founded in 2004, Brightcove has been the quality online video platform of choice for media organisations and enterprise companies. Its expertise helps organisations deliver video-first experiences that connect and engage audiences through a single, easy-to-use platform, enabling viewers to access content from any device at any time. In essence, this means employers can efficiently consolidate both live and on-demand content in one place and have the option to scale their platform according to their needs.

Another critical difference between a build-your-own content platform and one that’s fit for 2022 is data protection; many companies are falling foul of legislation on privacy and digital rights, and to manage this critical aspect of operations requires a team that specialises in the shifting legalities in play and general data management operations. With Brightcove’s expertise, companies can leave rights management, IP restrictions, age or role prerequisites as well as data protection across multiple geographies to the experts, and instead focus their resources and efforts on producing informative and engaging content.

To learn more about Brightcove’s history in the industry, and the future for your own content distribution and library, get in touch with a specialist advisor.