Whether it’s for remotely accessing content, for creating backups or for sharing, cloud applications are gaining popularity these days. Video data too is no exception as is increasingly being moved to the cloud.
However, video data is unique and requires special attention. Consider the following scenario. Say if you want to share a video with a colleague. You upload it on WeTransfer and send it to your colleague via email. Your colleague then waits for the entire 1 GB of video to download before being able to watch it.
The whole process is inconvenient and inefficient, and you’d want to share videos through something such as YouTube, where videos readily play through the browser.
Video files are large and you need an application that allows your recipients to be able to stream video as opposed to downloading them. Streaming is a process where large video files are broken into chunks and delivered chunk by chunk to the user.
To ease in the process, there are applications out there that can help you store and share videos online through the cloud. Each is designed for a specific purpose and depending on your need, you can choose from the 7 below.
To do so, you can opt for a simple cloud sharing platform to share your video files or opt for a specialized cloud video platform.
Table of Contents
Simple Cloud Sharing Applications
The simple and easy solution is to opt for a cloud sharing application where you upload your videos, and your end-users can download and view them. These platforms are designed for sharing files in general and do not specialize in handling of video data.
Google Drive
Google Drive is a great option as it offers 15 GB for free. Moreover, most videos directly play through the browser unless they are very large or in uncommon formats. If you have a small business or even a large organization, you can upgrade to a larger storage option.
In Google Drive, you can keep videos as private and share them with your team members. You can add collaborators and editors to comment on your videos and leave any feedback.
Dropbox
Unlike Google Drive, Dropbox offers only 2 GB of storage on the free version. Similar to Google Drive, video files will directly play through the browser if they are in a supported format. You can upgrade to a greater amount of storage if needed.
Compared to Google Drive, you get the 5 TB version at a cheaper price. You also have an option for unlimited storage in Dropbox.
Cloud Video Platforms
Cloud video platforms are applications that allow you to store and share files. However, they optimize video files to make them readily playable just like YouTube.
This happens through means of three major processes. The first is video streaming, where a video file is broken down into smaller chunks and delivered in pieces rather than as a whole. The second process is called video transcoding, where video files are converted into multiple formats. Users can then choose the format that best matches their device or internet connection speed. The third process involves compressing large video files into smaller versions to make sure they easily play for the end-user.
VIDIZMO
VIDIZMO is an enterprise-grade cloud video platform. This means that it gives you the option to store videos in their Azure cloud SaaS option (Government or Commercial) or you can store it in your organization’s own Azure or AWS account. Smaller organization would usually opt for the former, whereas large organizations prefer the latter due to its scalability and flexibility.
VIDIZMO offers a YouTube-like interface to upload and share video files. Apart from optimizing videos for streaming, VIDIZMO also offers multiple features to keep videos secure. It is a good option if you need to restrict videos to select people only. Lastly, you get AI-generated closed captions and transcripts in over 50 languages.
IBM Cloud Video
IBM Cloud Video or IBM Watson Media is a platform that you can opt for if you want to store your data in the secure IBM cloud. The platform optimizes video for streaming, uses transcoding and adaptive bitrate technology.
You can create a video library to share videos with your team, or you can share videos through links. All uploaded videos can be shared securely with select people or you can keep them public if you want to. Similar to VIDIZMO, it also offers the capability to generate closed captions and transcriptions through AI.
Wistia
Wistia is a video sharing platform that is great for collaboration. You can create a video project and have contributors add comments to it. The videos can be restricted to these select individuals only. All videos are optimized for playback, so team members don’t have to download them.
Wistia also offers features to embed videos on any public site. You can also use their platform to create a beautiful video gallery to include on your website.
Streamable
Streamable is the only free option if you want to share videos through a cloud video platform. You can go over to their website today, upload a video and share it through means of a link. Large video files are compressed, which makes it easy for recipients to play them.
The drawback of Streamable is that videos are not shared securely. Anyone who has access to the video’s link can easily download it and make copies. This may not be an issue to worry about if you belong to an organization that does not work in a regulated industry or is not sharing any sensitive data.
Conclusion
Each of the above-mentioned 7 platforms has been designed for a unique use case and purpose. Each has its pros and cons, and depending on your unique requirements, you can opt for the one that best suits you.