Headed to the Clouds: Video as a Service... Private, Public, Does it Matter?

[Roger Farnsworth (Roger_ Farnsworth)]

The “cloud” is everywhere. It’s all the rage these days, but it can be a fuzzy concept for your customers—and they're not alone. When I meet with customers, I typically describe it this way: the cloud consists of data, applications or services that your employees or customers access via the Internet. Gartner predicts that the bulk of new IT spending by 2016 will be for cloud computing platforms and applications with nearly half of large enterprises having cloud deployments by the end of 2017.*

Cloud services like Video as a Service (VaaS) will have a profound impact on how organizations deliver and deploy collaboration technology which will change the way we connect and communicate in the workplace and as consumers in the marketplace. Once customers understand the power of the “cloud,” the next questions are" where will VaaS fit and should we look for a private or public cloud?" I typically take a step back and explain it at a high level: some organizations leverage a private cloud because it is dedicated and customized to specific security and business needs. This requires significant IT investments and maintenance. Alternatively a public cloud consists of a shared service or set of services that are delivered via the Internet by a third-party provider. In this model infrastructure, security and IT expertise are managed by a third-party provider and organizations or individual users simply purchase or subscribe to access as required.

For example, Polycom’s RealPresence Cloud is powered by the Polycom RealPresence Platform. Even though the internal workings are developed and maintained by Polycom, this VaaS offering is sold by leading Solution and Service Providers whose customers can gain immediate and affordable access to secure, enterprise-grade video collaboration. Benefits like these, give Solution and Service Providers a straightforward way to diversify their portfolio and appeal to a new crop of customers in growth sectors. The best part, they can rapidly expand in key verticals like healthcare, financial services, and education without investing in-house IT expertise, all the behind-the-scenes infrastructure or management.

*Source - Gartner Says Cloud Computing Will Become the Bulk of New IT Spend by 2016; Gartner Inc. Press Release; April 2014