So, it’s official! Microsoft recently announced a new version for their video platform Microsoft Stream. It’s hard to find a business that doesn’t use Microsoft products. It is used by almost every organization one way or the other. According to research, over a million companies worldwide use Microsoft 365, with over 650,000 using the suite in the US alone. So, when Microsoft decided to make the changes, (migrating Stream to be specific) this may end up affecting many businesses. If you’re using Microsoft Stream (Classic) and don’t know where to go from here, here’s a summary on the migration process to advice you!
What Is Stream Classic?
Microsoft Stream, now Microsoft Stream (Classic), is a business-oriented video sharing, storage and collaboration platform. Introduced in 2016, only authorized users with valid Microsoft credentials get to access, organize, share and manage videos in Stream. It was like a separate video portal for all your videos, with features such as transcription, translation, playback speed options, inside-video search, pre-encoding and much more.
Learn more about Microsoft Stream Classic
Stream 2.0? – New Microsoft Stream
Rather than as a stand-alone application as before, the New Microsoft Stream is visioned to be integrated with SharePoint and OneDrive. With SharePoint and OneDrive integration, the existing system will leverage video management capabilities of SharePoint: governance, permissions, sharing and video policies. All the video content will now be accessible through the SharePoint or OneDrive application. However, as per Microsoft's documentation, some features won’t be offered in the New Microsoft Stream compared to Stream (Classic).
Learn More about the New Microsoft Stream
What’s The Change?
The main change is that Stream is no longer a video portal and a stand-alone video application. The New Microsoft Stream is going to leverage the capabilities of SharePoint and OneDrive by having video built-in within them. As a result, the capabilities that were not present in the classic version will be available in the newest version.
For instance, in the Classic version, organizing content was a problem, which in the newer version has been addressed by enabling users to create folders. Moreover, external sharing was not possible in the classic version which will now be addressed by the newer version. However, not everything is perfect! In the newer version some of the capabilities of the older version will be lost such as playback speed and video embedding to name a few.
A bigger question – Is Microsoft forcing you to migrate your content from Stream (Classic) to the New Stream? The answer is No! There are no automatic migrations. However, if you wish not to migrate the videos, they will be deleted after the retirement date.
What To Do Before Migration?
In order to migrate, an important aspect is to review your enterprise-wise video strategy, ensuring that everything is clear in regards to storing, retrieving and delivering. The following few things can be done before migration.
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Review Content Present in Stream Classic
Not all content needs to be migrated. You can use the Stream (Classic) usage report to assess the number of views, size, amount, and ownership of the videos. Unwanted videos do not need to be migrated and can stay in Stream (Classic) and will be deleted later on with time.
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Enable Cloud-Based Meeting Recordings
Save the hassle of migrating later and enable cloud-based meeting recording now! So, the videos are stored in SharePoint and OneDrive by taking advantage of the new Teams policy from today.
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Understand Migration Destination
To enable migration in bulk, Microsoft is using the concept of containers. Understanding container types and their default destination is essential. Containers are such that for instance, videos shared with the HR group in Stream will go to the HR site in SharePoint.
However, if you wish to change the destination, a new path needs to be defined. New Microsoft Stream will choose a destination by default that can be overridden by the user later. Using the CSV file (.csv file) feature you can change the destination in bulks.
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Migrate Content
Microsoft is working on building migration tools. The approach to migration is broken down into 3 phases. Before migration, during migration and after migration.
Migration Approach
This is our take on the migration approach.
- First and foremost, you’ll have the flexibility to move from the old Stream to New Stream by using your own migration tools. This will also enable you to pick your migration destination.
- Keeping in mind, once you migrate your video you can’t undo it. If you wish to migrate before all the features are supported in SharePoint, then you won’t be able to remigrate the lost information (such as video analytics) afterwards, even with the supported add-ons.
- Review and audit your video files, not every video needs to be migrated.
- New Stream and Stream (Classic) will coexist for a particular time based on your migration plan.
- Permission for videos will also be migrated during the process
- Migration tool built on the Mover framework will be available as the Microsoft Migration Manager.
- Some rules and constraints need to be overviewed highlighted by Microsoft documentation.
The New Stream is here, improving the video capabilities of Classic Stream, but that’s not enough. Let’s see why!
Best of Both Worlds - VIDIZMO!
SharePoint, when it comes to collaborating and managing documents and files, is great; however, it only provides limited capabilities for video streaming. Microsoft understood the problem, and that’s why they brought the New Microsoft Stream.
Here’s the catch! Some of the capabilities in Stream Classic will no longer be available in the New Stream. This may not be an issue for many. But if it is, then why not opt for a platform that provides both capabilities and much more.
Why migrate videos when you can use a centralized video platform that integrates with SharePoint?
VIDIZMO is a platform that seamlessly integrates with SharePoint. Best of both worlds – video streaming capabilities with centralized management.
VIDIZMO offers the expertise of both old and the newer version of Stream. For instance, you get to have a playback option in the player, with pre-encoding of video files, transcription and translation in a simillar way as given by the Old Stream. You also get a video content library and the capabilities of SharePoint offered by the New Stream.
VIDIZMO not only provides all the existing capabilities of Stream, but the features that are unique to VIDIZMO like redaction via AI to automatically track and hide the confidential information, internal and external embedding of videos and custom domains.
Learn more about VIDIZMO and how our platform integrates with SharePoint. Feel free to contact us, and our team would be happy to help!
Learn more about SharePoint Integration