How to Manage Video Growth in Enterprise IT Infrastructure with a Video CMS

If you’re an IT manager, CTO, or network administrator, you’re likely no stranger to the rapid growth of video within your organization’s digital ecosystem. Over the past few years, video content has evolved from a “nice-to-have” into an operational necessity – but with this rise in demand comes an equally steep rise in challenges. From employee training videos to meeting recordings to communication, enterprise video proliferates at unprecedented rates, demanding substantial storage, bandwidth, and processing power. 

The question is: are you ready for it? 

Most enterprise IT infrastructures aren’t well equipped with specifically designed enterprise video storage solutions to handle today’s volume and complexity of video data. The result? A constant battle to optimize storage, prevent bandwidth bottlenecks, and ensure seamless access. Such challenges have created the need for optimized enterprise video storage solutions.

In this blog, let’s explore how this trend creates challenges and, more importantly, how to manage video growth in enterprise IT with video storage solutions—a Video CMS—to optimize video infrastructure.

Why the Growing Demand for Video Storage Feels Overwhelming

As more organizations use video for training, corporate communications, marketing, and various other purposes, video content has evolved from just another data type into a critical business asset. But that's also where the challenges begin. 

Imagine this: your enterprise is rolling out a series of internal training modules via video. Each module is streamed to hundreds or even thousands of employees across various locations, with each session demanding high-definition quality. As network administrators know all too well, the bandwidth requirements alone for such initiatives can significantly stress an enterprise network. 

Or consider the storage dilemma. With each video file consuming hundreds of megabytes (or even gigabytes), storage needs quickly skyrocket. Unlike other file types, video data doesn’t compress well and must remain high-quality for practical use. Enterprise IT leaders are forced to choose between continually expanding storage infrastructure – a costly and complex route – or finding new ways to manage video data without compromising quality or accessibility. 

To make matters worse, legacy IT systems weren’t built with video in mind. Upgrades are needed across storage, network, and processing capacities, straining budgets and consuming valuable IT time. While some may suggest using generic cloud solutions to manage storage, many enterprises require highly secure, scalable, and accessible options beyond traditional storage offerings. 

Steps to Manage Video Growth in Enterprise IT Infrastructure

Tackling the problem of video overload is possible, but it requires a multi-layered strategy that addresses the root causes. Here’s a reliable framework for managing, optimizing, and scaling video data effectively in your IT infrastructure. 

Step 1: Invest in a Scalable Enterprise Video Storage Solution 

A scalable enterprise video storage solution – a Video Content Management System (CMS) can provide the backbone for optimizing your video infrastructure and streamlining your enterprise IT. Unlike traditional storage solutions, a scalable enterprise video CMS is specifically designed to handle large volumes of video data by offering: 

Storage and Bandwidth Optimization: A video CMS uses various storage optimization techniques to optimize video infrastructure without compromising quality. This is made possible with storage flexibility and encoding capabilities, which solve bandwidth challenges and optimize video infrastructure. 

Read more about planning for your storage ahead. 

A scalable enterprise video storage solution further offers the following benefits.

Content Categorization and Accessibility: A robust Video CMS provides tools for managing and categorizing video files, making them easier to access and less likely to clog your infrastructure with duplicate or outdated content. 

Compliance and Security: Many video content management solutions support compliance needs, making it easier to securely handle sensitive videos (like compliance or legal footage). 

With a video CMS in place, your team can centralize video content, simplifying access while reducing the burden on storage. Such enterprise video storage solutions offer specific features tailored to enterprise needs, ensuring you’re not just storing videos but managing them intelligently. 

Step 2: Optimize Video Infrastructure with Advanced Video Compression

If storage is the primary concern, implementing advanced compression methods is one of the simplest ways to reduce video file sizes without sacrificing quality. Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABR) is one option. ABR dynamically adjusts video quality based on the viewer’s network connection, meaning users with slower connections receive lower-bitrate streams, which reduces the burden on your network. 

Another technique, H.265 compression, offers improved compression over the older H.264 standard, allowing for better quality at lower bitrates. By adopting these standards, enterprises can significantly reduce storage and bandwidth demands, ultimately lessening the strain on infrastructure without sacrificing user experience. 

Step 3: Optimize Network Bandwidth with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) 

For organizations delivering video content to employees across multiple locations, using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) is essential. A CDN can offload video delivery from your central server, distributing video content through geographically dispersed servers to ensure faster access. 

Implementing a CDN reduces the load on your central IT infrastructure and improves load times for end users. Many CDNs also offer caching capabilities, meaning frequently accessed video files remain readily available, reducing the bandwidth required. With a well-configured CDN, network administrators can ensure that video doesn’t bottleneck other crucial network functions. 

Step 4: Secure Your Video Data with Enterprise-Grade Encryption 

Video security is paramount for many enterprises, especially those in the finance, healthcare, and government sectors. Traditional storage options often fail to meet strict security requirements, putting sensitive video content at risk. Consider a solution that provides end-to-end encryption specifically for video content. 

Look for solutions providing role-based access controls so authorized personnel can access specific videos. This helps ensure that all video data is encrypted in transit and at rest, giving IT leaders the peace of mind to meet compliance standards. 

Step 5: Reduce Redundancy 

With the help of video analytics, IT teams can identify underused videos and avoid redundant storage for low-priority content. For example, if a video is rarely accessed, consider archiving it in a low-cost storage solution rather than keeping it on high-speed infrastructure. 

Step 6: Regularly Review and Update Your IT Infrastructure 

It’s important to remember that no infrastructure solution is static. As your organization’s needs evolve, so too should your IT infrastructure. Regularly auditing your video content’s impact on storage and bandwidth will allow you to stay proactive rather than reactive in managing your resources. 

Conclusion

Managing the growth of video content in enterprise IT infrastructure is no small feat. It requires careful planning, suitable technological investments, and proactive strategies to optimize storage, bandwidth, and security. By implementing scalable enterprise video storage solutions, leveraging advanced compression techniques, and regularly auditing infrastructure, enterprises can effectively handle the rising demand for video without compromising performance or security.

The key is to stay ahead of the curve and align IT strategies with evolving video needs, ensuring a streamlined and future-proof digital ecosystem.

FAQs

1. What are the key challenges IT teams face in managing the growth of video content?

IT teams face multiple challenges, such as increased demand for storage capacity, network bandwidth strain, difficulty in managing and categorizing large volumes of video files, and ensuring secure access to sensitive video content. Traditional enterprise IT infrastructures often aren't equipped to handle the growing volume of high-quality video data, leading to bottlenecks, higher costs, and potential performance issues.

2. How can enterprises optimize video infrastructure to handle the growing volume of video data?

Enterprises can optimize their video infrastructure by implementing a scalable Video Content Management System (Video CMS) designed to efficiently manage large volumes of video data. A robust Video CMS provides advanced content categorization, storage optimization, and bandwidth management, enabling IT teams to centralize video content while reducing strain on network and storage resources.

3. How can a Video Content Management System (Video CMS) help optimize video storage?

A scalable Video CMS helps optimize video storage by efficiently managing and storing large amounts of video data. It offers features like advanced content categorization, accessibility tools, storage optimization techniques, and compliance management, ensuring improved performance, easier access, and reduced redundancy within the video infrastructure.

4. How can enterprises avoid storage overload for video data?

By using video analytics to track and identify underused or outdated video files and archive them, enterprises can avoid storage overload. By archiving low-priority or rarely accessed videos in low-cost storage solutions, IT teams can free up high-speed infrastructure for more critical and frequently accessed content, effectively managing video storage and optimizing infrastructure use.

5. How does a Video CMS enhance video infrastructure within enterprise IT

A Video CMS enhances video infrastructure by centralizing video storage, streamlining content categorization, and improving bandwidth efficiency. It allows IT leaders to manage enterprise video effectively without overburdening enterprise IT infrastructure, resulting in more efficient video operations.