The Internet is a visual medium, so it’s not surprising that video tops the list of marketing must-haves for businesses. According to HubSpot, 87 percent of companies are using video to promote their brand in 2019. What is this obsession with video costing them, though?
Why Video Matters to Businesses?
The most plausible answer is because that’s what consumers want. Google states that six out of 10 people choose video platforms over TV. They also estimate that half of the consumers under the age of 32 will not have cable by the year 2025. Statistics like that make television commercials, once the most sought-after marketing asset, almost obsolete.
What is replacing the old-school TV is online videos, thanks to social media and video blogging. Cisco believes that by 2022, Internet videos will be responsible for more than 82 percent of online traffic. Marketers say video offers a good return on their investment — so good that making videos is necessary to keep up with the competition.
Video creation has also become more cost-effective. Thanks to technology advancements, they are easy to make in-house and don’t require production outsourcing. In 2018, 88 percent of marketing professionals surveyed stated they would increase their video budgets for 2019.
Video Extends Beyond Marketing
Businesses are relying on video for communication, too. Video conferencing, for example, allows people to have face-to-face conversations even though they may be on other sides of the world.
Remote workers are becoming more common. It might be necessary for them to present ideas or have company meetings using video connections.
Businesses are offering videos to their customers to teach them how to use a product. They may use videos on their websites for employee training as well. It’s clear that video is a growing business resource, but what does all that video cost them in bandwidth?
A Little About Bandwidth
For the technologically challenged, bandwidth refers to how much information can move over a connection. It is a gross measurement of data transferred over a given time, usually per second.
Think of an Internet connection as a highway that allows data to move from one place to another. There is only so much room on a highway, and too much traffic causes a jam. Providers try to measure and control how much of that highway each business uses by creating lanes called bandwidth.
How Video Affects Bandwidth
Businesses must have bandwidth robust enough to capacitate quality video and other necessary services at the same time — like file sharing, VoIP phone systems, mobile devices, virus protection and data transfer. Videos take one of the biggest chunks of bandwidth, whether uploading them to the company website or using them internally for communications. Companies need to adjust to accommodate this growing media asset.
For instance, video conferencing for a business with 50 employees may use at least 10 Mbps of bandwidth. Skype video calls can take as much as 28 Mbps. Watching a live streaming video takes at least 5 Mbps.
Figuring Out Bandwidth Needs
That’s where a quality data connectivity provider comes into play. There are so many factors that can affect business bandwidth; it’s important to develop a strategy to determine bandwidth needs.
The provider will look at video usage but also at:
- Uploads
- Downloads
- Online tasks
- Online properties like websites and video blogs
A good provider will also consider the industry and number of employees the company has, along with hardware and software. Watching videos online takes up bandwidth, too. How much time do employees spend on social media?
Ideally, your provider also offers scalability and takes steps to avoid redundancies. Over time, you may find it’s necessary to expand your bandwidth based on video usage, hardware and software upgrades or staff size.
If you are curious about your bandwidth and internet speed, check out our SpeedTest.
PS LIGHTWAVE provides high-speed, fiber internet for public and private commercial entities in the Greater Houston and surrounding areas.
Through our high-quality infrastructure, innovative technology and expert, locally based support, we deliver not only the best in connectivity and reliability but in scalability and redundancy. We invite you to learn more about our services, our history and our dedicated team.
