In an enterprise-sized organization, video libraries can scale at staggering rates. Consider a globally recognized brand like Starbucks. According to Eric Pokorny, media content manager at Starbucks, the company shares video content with "more than 350,000 partners around the globe." When you factor in different use cases like internal training, marketing, and employee communications — not to mention localizing that content for the 86 countries in which Starbucks operates — you're looking at hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of videos.
Now, advancements in AI for video creation are suddenly making it possible to scale enterprise video production even further, creating more videos faster, with fewer resources, and without sacrificing quality.
These new AI tools for video creation, editing, transcription, and translation are removing the limitations of a large organization's video strategy. A single webinar can now be cut into several highlight reels and translated into dozens of languages in minutes. With AI, the value of a single piece of content can be scaled exponentially.
However, as larger organizations embrace an expanded video strategy, they must consider what that increased scale means regarding management and organization. How can these teams manage their content to ensure it's easy to collaborate on projects, search for–and discover–videos, and deploy them at the right moment to the right person?
In this blog, we'll tell you how.
Why corporations need video asset management
As enterprise businesses ramp up video creation, they need a system designed to manage video at scale. Typically, organizations view this as a choice between digital asset management (DAM) or video asset management (VAM).
Popular DAM services like Box, Dropbox, and Google Drive offer a one-size-fits-all system for an enterprise's digital assets — including text files, audio, and images in addition to video — but these services fall short in several critical areas for video management at scale.
In comparison, a VAM system is purpose-built to handle video use cases, going beyond simple file management to enable editing and real-time collaboration. Crucially, a VAM solution like Vimeo's Video Library can enable employees to search within video transcripts, allowing them to find the video they need even if they don't know the specific title or file name. A VAM system is also more likely than a DAM system to support video-specific tags and metadata.
Large organizations should choose a long-term VAM solution before ramping up content production with AI. Consider an enterprise business like Santander UK, a subsidiary of the global financial institution Banco Santander. Over a year, they produce more than 200 live events. With AI translation and dubbing, Santander can now create localized versions of each in more than two dozen languages within minutes. With the proper infrastructure — and a long-term plan for organizing for scale — enterprises like Santander can keep pace with the increased amount of content they produce.
“Vimeo is pulling in the audience, it’s helping us to engage with them… The last thing we need is to be struggling with tech in the background. We need a platform that can support us that doesn’t require too much manual intervention, and that’s really where Vimeo comes in.”
Vimeo as a VAM solution
For enterprises seeking a scalable VAM system, particularly one that can handle AI-enabled possibilities, Vimeo offers a long-term solution with a robust suite of collaboration, discoverability, and security tools. Most enterprises already use a basic solution to manage their video assets. However, migrating from one video solution to another can seem daunting.
Onboarding your content to Vimeo generally begins with a large-scale third-party content migration — moving your existing video assets from your current platform into our platform. Vimeo supports seamless cloud-to-cloud data transfers for most leading video solutions (including Brightcove, Kaltura, Wistia, Vidyard, Amazon S3, and Livestream).
Cloud-to-cloud data transfers simplify the process of transitioning to a new VAM while also protecting your data throughout the migration. While onboarding from a DAM solution is more challenging, Vimeo provides consistent support throughout the transition to ensure enterprise customers are set up for long-term success.
In addition to moving the assets, enterprises must consider metadata and organizational structure when transitioning from one video platform to another. Vimeo allows new customers to organize their content into folders during migration simply by creating a CSV file with metadata and asking the customer to assign videos to relevant folders. The result? A well-structured video library prepared to scale with AI production.
Common mistakes to avoid
Taking shortcuts when building and organizing an enterprise video library can be tempting. These are three of the most common mistakes that can lead to headaches:
One folder to rule them all
Some organizations hold every file in their root folder without any further structure. Keeping everything in the root can have severe ramifications for discoverability and access control.
Folders and subfolders are your friends because they allow you to manage access in accordance with your organizational structure. A large enterprise may choose to organize videos according to geographic region or business unit, then divide further for specific teams and projects. This way, you can give employees access to a carefully defined set of files while safeguarding more sensitive data.
"Untitled"... "Untitled2"... "Untitled3"
A strong enterprise video strategy allows the organization to reuse videos and derive value from their creative assets. But if the video you need is named "Untitled"? It might as well have never existed.
A consistent, logical naming system ensures that none of your videos will get lost and go to waste. It doesn't have to be complicated. As long as everyone in the enterprise knows and is committed to the naming convention, your library should be neat and organized.
Missed opportunities with metadata
The more time you invest upfront in labeling each video with metadata, the more time you'll save in the long run when searching for the right file. From directors and producers to cast and crew, Vimeo allows you to add substantial metadata to each asset. That way, when you want to find an advertisement from seven years ago that featured a specific actress, you'll be able to find it within seconds — instead of having to scroll through thousands of videos searching for the needle in the haystack.
“When I think about all the places video can live, a single source of truth for that one video is so important to us. What if a policy or procedure changes, and we need to pull the content on that topic? If we don’t have control over all the places that video went, it’s a nightmare to find it, tell people to stop using it, and re-share a new link to an updated asset.”
Key takeaways
An enterprise video library can feel overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. By establishing the right foundations and processes, an organization can scale confidently — even to the new heights enabled by AI.
- AI is taking enterprise libraries from big to enormous: Even organizations that already host hundreds of video events per year can scale up production exponentially.
- VAM is essential for an AI-enabled video strategy: A typical DAM won't be able to keep pace with the growth of a video library powered by AI.
- Avoiding common errors can clear the way for stress-free growth: Establish good habits for folder structure, naming files, and metadata. Your future self will thank you.
Click here to learn more about Vimeo for video asset management, or contact Vimeo sales for a personalized demo today!
