Vbrick has expanded its portfolio with the launch of a new browser-based production tool to augment its video platform.
Producer lets users create and source live digital events within Vbrick’s solution without the need for plug-ins or third-party tools. Vbrick designed Producer with simplicity in mind, so creators do not need support from expert audio-visual teams or additional video creation hardware like encoders or mixers.
Producer will be bundled in with Vbrick’s existing EVP offering at no extra cost.
Speaking to UC Today, Vbrick CEO Paul Sparta said Producer is designed to unlock live broadcasting for enterprises as they grapple with dispersed workforces and hybrid working.
“People think live broadcasts have to be professionally done in a studio; but, as video continues to become more integrated into daily workflows with more users creating video content, enterprises need self-service tools that democratize content creation and deliver a studio-like experience”, Sparta said.
“For live stream events, integrated production capability is critical for showing screens and content, switching between speakers, incorporating polling and Q&A. Our belief is that advanced production functionality will become table stakes for the enterprise video industry, and we’re excited to deliver it natively within our platform without the need for downloads or additional licenses.”
Producer leverages the latest browser technology to allow up to nine remote presenters to broadcast over Vbrick’s enterprise video platform, with features such as screen sharing, virtual backgrounds and multiple layout options.
Sparta picked out several key benefits of Producer that he expects to be popular among enterprises, with the first being reliability. Users can now create broadcasts in Vbrick’s enterprise video platform, meaning they don’t have to set up complex streaming across multiple infrastructures.
The most important feature, he said, is the backstage environment that Vbrick has built into Producer – helping elevate it above typical cloud meeting products. Prior to broadcasting a live stream, presenters can collaborate “backstage” via video and chat, view associated materials, and build scenes in a virtual green room.
Baking Video into Workflows
Sparta stressed that Producer is fully featured, despite the fact Vbrick is including it in their platform for free. He said it is “head and shoulders” more capable than most incumbent solutions.
Vbrick’s long-term vision is to bake video into wider enterprise workflows so it is wherever users need it to be, not just in an enterprise video platform. He teased a future collaboration that will help realise this vision, with an announcement expected before the end of the year.
The firm has other innovations in the pipeline, but Sparta said the enterprise video market as a whole is still relatively underdeveloped. Other players have established themselves as catering to marketing use cases or serving the midmarket, but Vbrick rarely comes up against them as competition among larger enterprises.
Vbrick’s short-term objective, the CEO explained, is to drive awareness of the benefits of an enterprise-grade platform.
“We are completely oriented towards the enterprise,” he said. “Enterprise buyers have traditionally been apprehensive because they’re not accustomed to video working on enterprise networks, but that’s changing and we’re moving through the hype cycle.
“It’s a competitive market, but we’re seeing very high net retention, and lightbulbs are going on in enterprises now.
“We want to pass the ball towards where enterprises are running, not necessarily where they’re at now. There are some very audacious things that we can do once we solidify ourselves as the enterprise player.”
Find out more about Producer and Vbrick’s enterprise video platform here.
