Will video kill the CIO?
The IT world is changing rapidly, and CIOs can easily be surprised when their world is turned upside down. When you become a CIO, you’ll have to deal with a whole new set of problems due to the advent of a technology we don’t usually associate with IT: video.
Here comes the video, are you going to be ready?
Sure, we’re all used to receiving and interacting with video in our personal lives, but until a few years ago, video didn’t play a significant role in business. In case you missed it, That is about to change.
Market research firm WinterGreen Research tells us that the global enterprise video streaming market was worth approximately $2.8 billion in 2008. They predict it will grow to $14.4 annually by 2014. This market is defined to include all , including video conferencing. , virtual fairs, digital signage, etc.
Now you might be making fun of saying something like “video has been around forever, this isn’t a big deal for CIOs.” Ahh, but you’d be wrong: High Definition (HD) video has changed everything. High Definition has arrived and is taking over: Reports from the field indicate that over 50% of business video produced is shot in HD.
The problem with high definition
As a CIO, you’ll spend a lot of time thinking about HD video. It’s not just because it looks so good, but because it will potentially take up a huge chunk of your available network resources.
In the old world of standard definition (SD) video, a video stream required 1 to 2.5 Mbps. In today’s new world of HD video streaming, you’ll need 4 to 7 Mbps per stream, depending on the codec used. and the resolution of the images. Don’t even get me started on what this will mean for your data storage needs.
How CIOs will have to deal with HD video
How can I just say this? Your current network will not be able to handle this type of bandwidth hogging application. However, there’s a good chance that the problem of how to transport multiple HD video streams across your company network will creep up on you. First there will be one stream, then two, then ten. Before you know it, you’ll have a problem on your hands.
Your enterprise HD video users are going to be a demanding bunch. The days of putting up with choppy, postage stamp-sized video footage are over. Instead, what your customers will want is smooth, full-screen video. Monitoring end user service quality and having IT able to provide video service level agreements will become the norm.
High-quality video assumes you have a reliable infrastructure to provide it. That means your IT team will have to spend time and energy finding ways to overcome the two gremlins that plague video transmissions: packet loss and jitter as video information flows through the enterprise network.
What all this means to you
In the old days, a CIO could assume that the here and now were settled and that he could spend his time focusing on the future. The advent of enterprise video, as well as HD video, is creating problems right now.
The increased bandwidth and network resources required by HD video will require CIOs to react quickly to dynamically changing network conditions. Since the quality of the delivered product is so apparent, a portion of your IT staff will need to focus on managing video quality metrics.
The challenge of managing video on your network is one you must solve when you become a CIO. The solution won’t be easy, and as the amount of video your network carries will continue to grow, you’ll need to constantly adapt to a changing situation to keep up.
Now that you know what to do, make sure you’re not in for a surprise!
