Buyer’s Guide to Choosing the Right Online Video Platform

According to a recent report by DataReportal, 92% of people watch videos online. Not surprising, huh? It is a no-brainer for anyone to understand that video content has gained immense popularity. Therefore, various vendors are racing to claim the spot of the best online video platform.

With the demand for video content on the rise, online video platform companies – from giants to new market entrants, from old guns to lesser-known firms, have resorted to offering online video platform software in the market.

What could be the reason behind the above phenomenon? Netizens love videos. However, that's not all Enterprises have also realized how important they are for achieving business and organizational objectives. 

From onboarding and training employees to communicating with them, hosting virtual events and webinars, and marketing your brand or product/service, video serves as the Swiss Army knife for catering to a variety of enterprise use cases.

With such lucrative opportunities, it makes sense for new video software vendors to emerge out of nowhere and milk them by offering an online video platform.

However, this puts the buyer at a disadvantage since, given the increased number of online video platforms, they now have to face a choice overload. This choice overload leads to clouded judgment.

To address the above adversity, this blog aims to offer a detailed online video platform comparison for people looking for the leading online video platform to boost their business and achieve their organizational goals.

Let’s get started by knowing what an online platform is.

What is an Online Video Platform?

An online video platform (OVP) is a comprehensive software solution designed to manage, store, deliver, and analyze video content across various devices and platforms. It provides businesses with a centralized system to upload, organize, stream, secure, and share video content efficiently. With the increasing reliance on video for communication, marketing, training, and internal operations, having a reliable video platform is essential for organizations looking to harness the power of video to engage employees, customers, and stakeholders.

The Role of an Online Video Platform in Managing Video Content

An online video platform plays a pivotal role throughout the entire lifecycle of video content—from its creation to distribution. These platforms offer a wide range of tools designed to address the complexities of video hosting, live and on-demand streaming, content management, and data analysis.

Key features of a high-performing online video platform include:

• Video Hosting and Streaming: The ability to host video content securely and stream it across a variety of devices with optimized playback, no matter the bandwidth or device being used.
• Advanced Analytics: Many platforms offer robust analytics that tracks how videos are consumed, including engagement metrics such as views, watch time, and interaction rates. This data is vital for refining video strategies and ensuring that content resonates with the intended audience.
• Transcoding: Transcoding is the process of converting video files into multiple formats to ensure compatibility across various devices and platforms. This process is crucial for providing the best possible viewing experience across different screen sizes, bandwidth conditions, and operating systems.
• Customization: The ability to customize video players with branding elements such as logos, colors, and personalized features. This ensures that videos align with the company’s overall branding strategy.
• Security Features: Leading video platforms incorporate robust security measures, including encryption, role-based access control (RBAC), and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect sensitive content and ensure that only authorized users can access videos. These security features are critical for businesses managing proprietary, confidential, or regulated content.

Statistics on the Importance of Video in Business

According to a recent study, 93% of organizations report that video helps them achieve their communication objectives. This statistic highlights the growing importance of video as a communication and engagement tool, which is particularly relevant for enterprises looking to enhance internal communications, employee training, and customer interactions through video content.

Video has become a powerful medium for enhancing engagement, whether it's for live communication, on-demand training content, or marketing campaigns. The ability to seamlessly host and share video content across platforms, while tracking performance and optimizing delivery, has made video an indispensable tool for business operations.

Features of Leading Online Video Platforms

Most online video platforms offer a range of advanced features designed to improve the overall video experience for both administrators and viewers. These include:

• Closed Captions (CC): Accessibility features such as closed captions ensure that video content is inclusive and compliant with accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG).
• Adaptive Streaming: Some platforms support eCDN (enterprise content delivery networks), which helps reduce latency and improve video quality, especially in remote or global settings.
• Search and Tagging: AI-driven tools allow for intelligent media tagging and automatic transcription, making video content more discoverable and easier to manage.

Takeaways

An online video platform is an essential tool for enterprises that need to manage, secure, and distribute video content at scale. Whether for internal communication, training, or marketing, video platforms provide businesses with the features and flexibility needed to harness the full potential of video. As video continues to grow in importance, investing in a reliable platform with robust security, compliance, and scalability features will ensure that businesses can meet their communication objectives and support future growth.

Why Secure Video Hosting is Essential for Enterprises

As businesses continue to embrace digital transformation, video has become a crucial tool for communication, training, and collaboration. With the increasing reliance on video content, ensuring its security, compliance, and scalability is paramount. Here's why secure video hosting is essential for enterprises:

Data Security

Data security is the cornerstone of any enterprise video platform. Businesses deal with sensitive information daily, and ensuring that video content—whether training videos, customer communications, or product demos—is securely hosted is crucial to protect both the organization and its customers.

According to research from Proxyrack, ransomware attacks are projected to grow by 57% year-over-year, with global damages forecasted to reach $265 billion annually by 2031.

Why It's Important:

• Encryption: This ensures that video content is protected both in transit (when it's being uploaded or streamed) and at rest (when stored on servers). With strong encryption protocols, even if data is intercepted, it remains unreadable to unauthorized individuals.
• Role-based Access Control (RBAC): Enterprises often deal with varying levels of sensitive data. RBAC allows you to define who has access to what. For example, a human resources training video might only be accessible to HR managers, while a company-wide communication video can be shared across all departments. This helps to limit exposure to sensitive content, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access certain videos.
• Multi-factor Authentication (MFA): Adding a layer of security with MFA ensures that users are properly authenticated before accessing the platform. Even if login credentials are compromised, MFA ensures an extra layer of protection by requiring additional verification steps, such as a one-time code sent to a user’s phone.

 This statistic underscores the financial implications of data breaches. Investing in secure video hosting platforms that offer robust data protection features can save businesses from significant financial losses and reputational damage.

According to research from Cybersecurity Ventures, cybercrime is anticipated to cost the global economy $10.5 trillion annually by the end of 2025.

By utilizing a secure video sharing platform with encryption, RBAC, and MFA, enterprises can mitigate the risk of costly data breaches and maintain the confidentiality of sensitive video content.

Compliance and Regulatory Needs

Compliance is another critical factor when choosing a video hosting platform, especially for industries that deal with sensitive or regulated data. Companies must ensure that their video content complies with local, regional, and international regulations to avoid hefty fines and reputational damage.

Why It's Important:

• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): Companies operating in or serving the European Union must ensure that their video platform complies with GDPR. This regulation mandates strict guidelines for the collection, storage, and sharing of personal data, including video content. A compliant video platform must offer features like data encryption, audit trails, and the ability to manage user consent.
• HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): For enterprises in the healthcare sector, video content containing personal health information (PHI) must adhere to HIPAA standards. This includes ensuring that video hosting platforms are secure and that content can be stored, transmitted, and accessed in compliance with HIPAA regulations.
• FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards): For companies working with federal agencies or handling government data, FIPS compliance is crucial. This compliance ensures that video content meets stringent security standards for encryption and access control.

This statistic highlights the significant penalties associated with non-compliance. With such heavy fines at stake, businesses can’t afford to ignore the compliance features of their video hosting platform. Ensuring that your platform meets GDPR, HIPAA, and other relevant standards will safeguard your company from potential legal and financial repercussions.

A compliance video platform not only protects your organization from fines but also helps build trust with customers, knowing that their data is handled securely and in accordance with the law.

Scalability and Flexibility

As enterprises continue to generate and utilize more video content, the ability to scale your video hosting platform is essential. Video content is not just growing in volume but in complexity—ranging from short-form content to long webinars, training modules, or marketing videos. Therefore, businesses need a platform that can handle increasing data needs without compromising performance.

Why It's Important:

• Scalability: A platform that can scale with your business will allow you to accommodate growing volumes of video content, from file storage to bandwidth for streaming. Cloud-based hosting is often the most scalable option, providing flexibility for businesses to expand as needed without worrying about managing on-site infrastructure.
• Flexibility: As your enterprise grows, you may need to change the way video content is organized, shared, or integrated with other systems. A flexible platform ensures that your content can evolve with your business needs. Whether you need to integrate with your LMS for employee training, CRM systems for sales enablement, or video conferencing tools, a flexible platform makes it easier to ensure smooth workflows across your organization.
• Global Access: Enterprises often operate across multiple regions and time zones. A scalable and flexible video platform ensures that videos are accessible across borders with optimized delivery for all users, regardless of location. Features like adaptive bitrate streaming ensure that users can access high-quality videos even on lower bandwidth connections.

By choosing a cloud-based enterprise video hosting solution, businesses can ensure that their video infrastructure is both scalable and flexible, able to handle future growth without sacrificing performance.

Takeaways

Secure video hosting is essential for enterprises looking to protect their sensitive video content, ensure compliance with regulatory standards, and accommodate growing volumes of media. Whether it’s through strong data security measures like encryption and MFA, adherence to GDPR and other compliance standards, or choosing a platform that scales with your business needs, enterprises must invest in a robust, flexible, and secure video hosting solution.

Factors for Choosing the Right Online Video Platform

Choosing the right video platform for your enterprise is a critical decision that affects your content management, employee engagement, and compliance with regulatory standards. With the vast number of options available today, it’s important to consider several factors that ensure the platform not only meets your current needs but also scales with your organization’s future growth. Here are the key factors to evaluate when selecting a video platform for your enterprise:

1.    Format-agnostic
2.    Data security
3.    Compliance
4.    Integrations
5.    Artificial intelligence (AI).

Format-Agnostic

A format-agnostic video platform goes beyond just hosting videos. It allows you to manage, store, and share a wide range of digital media files, including documents, images, presentations, and audio files.

Why It’s Important:

In a business environment, teams often work with various types of media, not just video. For example, a training department might use video content alongside PDFs, documents, and slides to build comprehensive learning modules. A format-agnostic platform supports multiple media types, so your team doesn’t need to juggle between multiple systems for different content types.

By supporting multiple formats, a platform ensures that all content is centralized in one place, making it easier for employees to find and share the right information. Additionally, this reduces the cost and complexity of managing multiple systems and tools.

VIDIZMO EnterpriseTube supports up to 255+ different file formats, including videos, audio recordings, images, documents, and Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) files, which are compatible with learning management systems (LMS).

Advanced Analytics and AI Features

Analytics and AI-driven features are becoming indispensable for managing video content in a modern enterprise. These features allow for automation and deeper insights into how video content is being used, its effectiveness, and how to optimize it further.

Why It’s Important:

Features like automatic video transcription, content search, and media tagging powered by AI are crucial for enterprises that deal with large volumes of video content. AI helps identify key moments in videos, automates tagging for easy content retrieval, and generates captions or translations to make videos more accessible.

According to Forbes, the generative AI market is projected to grow to $1.3 trillion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42%.

AI's growth highlights its increasing role in video content management. Leveraging AI can help enterprises save time, enhance content discoverability, and provide more efficient workflows.

Data Security

According to a US Today publication, cybercrimes cost organizations $1.3 million in 2023. Since organizations largely deal with proprietary and sensitive information, including patents, trade secrets, copyrighted content, customer and vendor data, and more, storing them on an insecure enterprise video platform poses great risk.

Hence, an online video platform needs to be equipped with security features to protect confidential, sensitive, and commercial information. Given the information's sensitivity, these measures should go beyond the basics of password protection.

EnterpriseTube offers a host of data security and protection capabilities, including:

• Role-based access control for defining user roles and privileges
• Multifactor authentication (MFA) for secure user logins
• Single sign-on (SSO) support for user authentication
• Comprehensive data encryption for hardened information security
• URL tokenization for generating temporary shareable media links, etc.

Compliance

In today’s privacy-aware world, organizations are legally bound to comply with stringent industry, regional, and global regulations. Refusing to comply with these regulations, whether intentionally or unintentionally, results in huge financial costs.

Take, for example, GDPR. Even a less severe violation results in a financial penalty of up to €10 million or 2% of the global annual turnover. In 2023, Facebook was fined €1.2 billion for GDPR noncompliance.

Moreover, Article 30 of GDPR states that organizations need to maintain a record of recipients to whom personal data has been shared. As videos include personal data, organizations need to use a video platform to provide audit trail reports for each file. 

A non-compliant enterprise video platform can bring huge legal, financial, and reputational damages. This is why organizations need to look for an enterprise video hosting platform that complies with the data security requirements set forth by regulations.

EnterpriseTube is a GDPR—and FIPS-compliant enterprise video platform that offers best-in-class security to help organizations comply with strict regulations.

Integrations

One of the biggest challenges faced by organizations is dealing with siloed data that exists in separate IT systems. According to IDC, siloed information can lead to companies losing up to 30% of their annual revenue—that’s a lot of money. 

Moreover, siloed data makes it difficult to implement effective data governance, security, compliance, and more. Hence, organizations need to eliminate information silos and ensure smooth interoperability by harnessing the power of integration.

EnterpriseTube integrates with existing IT systems and a range of third-party apps, including:

• Video conferencing platforms (Zoom, MS Teams, Cisco Webex, etc.)
• Content management systems (CMS)
• Customer analytics platforms (Google Analytics and Woopra), and more.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm. From self-driving vehicles to generative AI, technology continues to revolutionize various industries. As per a Forbes Advisor survey, more than 50% of organizations are leveraging AI to automate business processes.

With the use of AI, organizations can reap the benefits of significant time- and cost savings. By using AI to expedite their media search process and automate the transcription and translation of media, organizations can save big time.

EnterpriseTube is a leading online video platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that offers the following AI capabilities:

• Search for relevant media using tags, spoken content, and faceted search
• Automatically generate tags to provide context to your media content
• Automatically generate transcription, closed captions (CC), and translation of videos.

Hosting Options (Cloud, On-Premises, Hybrid)

The deployment model for your video platform is an important factor. Enterprises need to choose between cloud-based, on-premises, or hybrid hosting solutions.

Why It’s Important:

• Cloud Hosting offers scalability and flexibility with lower upfront costs. It is ideal for businesses that need to scale quickly and want to avoid the complexities of managing hardware.
• On-Premises Hosting gives businesses full control over their video content, making it suitable for companies with strict data privacy or security requirements.
• Hybrid Hosting offers the best of both worlds, allowing businesses to store sensitive videos on-premises while using the cloud for less critical content.

Choosing the right hosting option ensures that your business can manage growing video content effectively while adhering to security requirements.

User-Friendly Interface and Experience

An intuitive, easy-to-use interface ensures that employees and administrators can navigate the platform without frustration or requiring extensive training.

Why It’s Important:

A user-friendly interface reduces the learning curve for employees, allowing them to start using the platform right away. When platforms are difficult to navigate, it can lead to lower adoption rates and hinder productivity. A clean, simple interface for uploading, organizing, and sharing videos ensures better engagement and reduces time spent searching for content.

Cost-Effectiveness

When evaluating video platforms, it’s important to assess the total cost of ownership, including the platform’s pricing structure, scalability, and any additional costs as your video content grows.

Why It’s Important:

Some platforms charge based on usage, such as the number of videos uploaded, storage space, or viewing hours. It’s important to choose a platform that offers transparent pricing and provides value for money as your enterprise scales. Evaluate not just the initial costs but also long-term expenses to ensure that the platform fits within your budget while delivering the necessary features.

Vendor Reputation and Industry Recognition

The vendor’s reputation, including industry recognition, awards, and case studies, is a good indicator of the platform’s quality and reliability.

Why It’s Important:

Trust signals like Gartner recognition and case studies from well-known clients reassure you that the platform has been tested and proven in real-world enterprise environments. A reputable vendor is more likely to provide consistent updates, reliable support, and a platform that evolves with your needs.

Comparing The 7 Top Online Video Platforms

Since now we are done with the factors to consider when choosing online video platforms, it is time for an online video platform comparison. The following seven online video platforms have been compared:

VIDIZMO EnterpriseTube

Recognized by Gartner, VIDIZMO EnterpriseTube is an AI-powered enterprise video content and digital media management system for live and on-demand streaming, catering to a variety of use cases, including corporate communications, training and learning, remote workforce management, virtual events and webinars, and more.

The following are the prominent features of VIDIZMO EnterpriseTube:

• White-label platform for platform, category, and player branding
• Flexible deployment options, including cloud, on-premises, hybrid, and SaaS
• AI-powered redaction of videos, audio recordings, images, and documents.
• Custom security policies to tailor to your organization’s requirements
• Lecture capture for recording videos in the online video platform
• Granular media analytics, including engagement trends, user-level analytics, and more
• Desktop app with a Watch Folder for offline viewing and media synchronization.

To learn more about EnterpriseTube, visit our dedicated website or experience it yourself by signing up for a 7-day free trial. No, we don’t ask for your credit card information.

Kaltura

Kaltura offers live and on-demand streaming for marketing, customer and partner enablement, corporate communications, learning and development, higher education, and media and telecom. 

Kaltura takes a piecemeal approach to video hosting. For instance, it has separate pricing packages for virtual events, webinars, virtual classrooms, town halls, and more. This creates a hassle for users who want to address multiple use cases through a single platform.

The following are the prominent features of Kaltura:

• Centralized platform for videos, audio, images, and documents
• Modularity and branding options to customize the video portal
• Player branding options
• A range of search filters to quickly retrieve digital media content
• Granular media analytics, including technology and demographic analytics
• Drop Folder for media synchronization.

Panopto

Panopto is another AI-powered online video platform that addresses a range of use cases for educational service providers and enterprises. Like other vendors, it also offers both live and on-demand streaming and a centralized platform.

The highlights of Panopto are as follows:

• Smart AI search using spoken content and any word on-screen
• Lecture capture capability
• Player branding using logo and brand colors
• Integration with Google Analytics and video conferencing apps
• Flexible deployment options, including cloud and on-premises
• User-level video analytics.

Brightcove

Brightcove claims to be the world’s most trusted streaming technology company. Brightcove targets a spectrum of use cases from employee engagement to video marketing. The company offers three distinct products, namely Marketing Studio, Communications Studio, and Media Studio.

One of the limitations of Brightcove is that you cannot create nested folders to organize your media.

The prominent features of Brightcove are as follows:

• Video insights, including QoE and interactivity analytics
• App marketplace for third-party integrations
• Single sign-on (SSO) support for identity verification
• Geographic, IP, domain, and playback restrictions
• Automatic closed captioning (CC) using AI.

Vimeo

Vimeo is a popular online video platform that covers a range of use cases, including corporate communications, learning and development, video marketing, and more for small businesses and enterprises.

One of the limitations of Vimeo is that it only supports video files.

The following are the most prominent features of Vimeo:

• Search for the relevant video through AI-powered transcripts
• Security features, such as SSO, multifactor authentication, and domain-level privacy
• Configurable data retention policies
• Brandable video player
• Automated closed captioning in 7+ languages
• Video performance tracking, including average % watched, finishes, top views by city, etc.

IBM Cloud Video

IBM Cloud Video offers on-demand and live-streaming capabilities. The tech giant claims that over 2 million live events are streamed every month using IBM Cloud Video. The platform caters to virtual events, corporate communications, marketing, and media and entertainment use cases. 

It is pertinent to note that, as implied by the name, IBM Cloud Video is limited to hosting video content.

Some of the prominent capabilities of IBM Cloud Video are as follows:

• AI-powered closed captioning (CC)
• Power video search using artificial intelligence
• A range of security features, including encryption, email authentication, and more
• Company-branded and customizable portal
• Integration with Cisco Webex and BlueJeans video conferencing platforms.

Dacast

Dacast is yet another enterprise video platform targeting use cases, including sports, and media and entertainment to name a very few. One of the limitations is that it is confined to videos. The following are the prominent features of Dacast:

• Geo-restrictions and other privacy settings, including tokenized video delivery
• Video encryption at-rest
• White-label platform for adding your logo and colors
• Adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming
• Audience engagement, viewership, and location analytics. 

Why is VIDIZMO EnterpriseTube the Go-To Online Video Platform?

In today’s fast-paced digital world, video has become an indispensable tool for businesses looking to engage employees, communicate effectively, and enhance their marketing efforts. As organizations increasingly rely on video content for various use cases, selecting the right online video platform is crucial for ensuring security, compliance, and scalability. A reliable OVP not only helps businesses streamline their video content management and distribution but also protects sensitive data through encryption, role-based access, and compliance with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and FIPS.

With video being such a powerful medium for communication and learning, it’s essential for enterprises to choose a platform that can grow with them. Scalable, secure, and feature-rich online video platforms enable businesses to handle a growing volume of content, meet regulatory requirements, and deliver a seamless video experience to users across the globe.

By investing in the right online video platform, businesses can unlock the full potential of video content—improving engagement, enhancing training, and optimizing marketing efforts—while ensuring their content remains protected, compliant, and adaptable to future growth.

People Also Ask

What is the best online video platform for enterprises?

EnterpriseTube is a leading online video platform that offers secure video hosting, compliance with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, and powerful AI-driven features such as transcription, search, and analytics. It provides a centralized platform to record, upload, stream, and share video content securely.

Why is secure video hosting important for enterprises?

Secure video hosting ensures that your enterprise’s sensitive video content is protected against data breaches. It includes robust features such as encryption, role-based access control, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to safeguard your videos and comply with data privacy regulations like GDPR and HIPAA.

How does EnterpriseTube ensure compliance with data protection regulations?

EnterpriseTube is fully compliant with GDPR, HIPAA, and FIPS standards, ensuring that all video content is stored, processed, and shared in accordance with stringent data protection laws. It also offers features like audit trails, encryption, and user consent management to meet compliance requirements.

Can EnterpriseTube integrate with other enterprise systems?

Yes, EnterpriseTube offers seamless integration with popular video conferencing platforms like Zoom, Learning Management Systems (LMS), and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools. This ensures smooth workflows and better content management across departments.

What are the key features of EnterpriseTube?

EnterpriseTube provides key features like AI-powered video search, adaptive bitrate streaming, closed captions, custom security policies, role-based access control, and scalability. These features make it an ideal choice for businesses looking for a secure, compliant, and flexible video hosting platform.

Can I use EnterpriseTube for video marketing?

Yes, EnterpriseTube supports a variety of use cases, including video marketing. It offers features like granular video analytics, player customization, and branding options, allowing businesses to effectively use videos for marketing, customer engagement, and brand promotion.

How does EnterpriseTube handle scalability as video content grows?

EnterpriseTube offers cloud-based hosting options, ensuring that the platform can scale with your growing video content needs. It provides flexible deployment options, including cloud, on-premises, and hybrid solutions, making it adaptable for businesses of any size or industry.

Is EnterpriseTube suitable for compliance-driven industries?

Yes, EnterpriseTube is designed to meet the needs of industries that require strict compliance, such as healthcare, education, finance, and government. It ensures that all video content complies with privacy laws and data security standards, reducing the risk of legal and financial penalties.

Does EnterpriseTube offer mobile access to videos?

Yes, EnterpriseTube ensures that videos are accessible on any device, including smartphones and tablets, through responsive design and adaptive bitrate streaming. This ensures high-quality playback across varying network conditions, improving user experience.

How does AI improve video management in EnterpriseTube?

EnterpriseTube uses AI-powered features to enhance video content management. It offers automated transcription, video tagging, faceted search, and content recognition, making it easier for users to find and organize videos, saving time and improving productivity.