Streaming Media - August/September 2008 - (Page 75)

electronic copy of the guides you feel would be applicable to our requirements. Security. Security is an important consideration for your webcasting solution. Hosting content either behind the firewall or with an external CDN with built-in security could meet your security needs. More and more companies are discovering that CDNs provide stringent levels of security while offering ease of maintenance and the flexibility to choose between a SaaS or on-site solution. There are a number of key components you may want to look for based on your security needs. First, you should look for a product that allows you to set secure login requirements for content creation. It should also give you the ability to set rights for different projects and users of the webcasting software. Finally, your solution should offer viewer permissions that give users control over who can see each webcast. Here are questions to ask about security: • What security features are included in both a hosted and an enterprise installation environment of your application? • What levels of security are available? • Does your system offer the ability to assign access to users on a function-by-function basis? If so, please describe. • What audit trail functionality is built into your software? • How can users ensure that webcast content is not accessible by those not authorized to view that content? • Does your system have the ability to restrict viewers based on IP address and/or domain? • Does your system integrate with lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) or Active Directory? ASSET AND CONTENT MANAGEMENT • • • • • • • • • • Can the assets be used in multiple presentations (reused)? Is it part of and included in the webcasting platform? Does it handle the types of assets you need? Are there administrative and/or tracking capabilities, such as time-stamping and asset history? Is there an easy-to-navigate directory structure? Are you able to control the naming conventions in order to be consistent with existing conventions? Are the assets searchable? Can you do a batch upload of assets or upload only one asset at a time? Can you do both? Can you edit the metadata after upload? Can you predeploy assets in order to speed up publishing times? Content Management. A standard function of webcasting systems is a content management system that will manage, archive, and promote the streaming content you create with your webcasting solution. As your organization creates more and more video content, you will need to set up a library or menu with various security levels. Here are questions to ask about content management: • Does the system offer a clear list of content reports by item type (content, type, media, creator, date, etc.) • Does your content management system seamlessly integrate with your webcasting platform? • Does the webcasting platform have the ability to easily modify archives? • Is the content management system time-stamped? • Are you able to integrate the webcast platform with your existing content management system? • Does it provide easy search capabilities? • Does it allow security settings for access to content and/or system reports for different users? The assets and content associated with webcasting can be subdivided into three categories: Asset management refers to the handling of preproduction elements, such as logos, videos, and PowerPoint documents; content management concerns postproduction files, or the actual webcasts; and a content portal is the front door into your content management system—a way for viewers to consume published content and for creators to access all content in one central place. These three capabilities may be offered as part of a webcasting system or may each be a unique offering, but you should consider your needs in all of these areas. Asset Management. There are numerous types of assets that are used in creating dynamic webcasts, including archived video, PowerPoint presentations, logo images, and Flash animations. As your company scales up its webcasting presence, it is important to consider how these preproduction assets will be managed. A good asset management system is crucial to the production of webcasts. Making sure that your vendor has a well-designed system in place will go a long way toward assuring your webcasting platform’s overall success. Here are questions to ask about asset management: • Is the asset management system online and easily accessed? Content Portal. As your company grows, you may want to set up a portal for participants to locate and consume video content. A portal, much like YouTube, allows end users and creators to locate content by searching keywords, browsing categories or tags, or selecting promoted or suggested content. It may also offer the ability to rate and comment on content, email links to other users, and submit content for review. Administrative tools allow you to manage, edit, or unpublish previously published content. If such a feature is part of your future plans, make sure that the vendor you select can either integrate with portal systems or offer one that will consistently and reliably meet your needs. Here are questions to ask about the content portal: • Do you provide a content portal? • Does the webcasting system integrate easily with this portal? Does it do so as a part of the webcasting system or as a separate product? Does it integrate easily with other portals? • Does the portal provide the ability for end users to locate content by searching keywords, browsing by categories or tags, or selecting promoted or suggested content? • What security features are included with the portal? • What can end users do on the portal besides view the WWW.STREAMINGMEDIA.COM 75 http://WWW.STREAMINGMEDIA.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Streaming Media - August/September 2008

Streaming Media - August/September 2008 Table of Contents No Doubt - Editor's Note Mo’ Videos, Mo’ Money: Solving the Problem of Network Cost Why Good Design Matters More Than Ever: Just. Press. Play. Technology and Business Trends by the Numbers High-Touch Encoding With Microsoft Expression Encoder 2 The State of the Content Delivery Market, 2008 Get a Life: New Tools Put Lifecasting Within Anyone’s Reach So Many Codecs, So Little Time: Comparing H.264 Files Using Codecs From Apple, Dicas, and MainConcept Writing an RFP for Maximum ROI: Things to Consider and Questions to Ask When Writing a Request for Proposal for a Corporate Webcasting System The Patent Wars Producing Screencams in Camtasia Studio Analyze That Using Video to Communicate Change for Business Success Intellectuals’ Property Rights

Streaming Media - August/September 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.