Interactivity Key to Video Events in Hybrid Future: Brightcove

Interactivity is key to the future of videoconferencing and enterprise video events, Namita Dhallan, Brightcove vice president-marketplace and technology, told us. It's integrated into Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Cisco's Webex, and its video platform powers virtual global product launches and events. The platform has chat functionality, within the video and interactivity with polls, along with the ability to put placements on the video. “It can be much more engaging than just watching a bunch of blocks on a screen,” said the executive. Brightcove powered a Dropkick Murphy event from Fenway Park in Boston in May 2020, reaching an audience of over 9 million. “If you were having an on-site conference, and you thought you might get 2,000 people to attend, now that it was virtual, people were seeing that their events were going to the tens of thousands, if not more,” she said. The company’s platform is designed for broadcast-quality and can scale from hundreds to “millions” of users, she said. That helped companies deliver their message when people couldn’t travel or gather. As conferences start to return, Dhallan said, indications from customers and the market are that “hybrid events are here to stay.” Customers can reuse event content and put it on a website that lives on beyond a physical event or as an over-the-top application, she said. South by Southwest had an OTT application “so it would be this omnichannel experience that lived on,” she noted: Video will play a vital role for the future of work, events, marketing and internal communications.