In an attempt to further their already substantial impact on online business, Google has announced that it will soon launch a YouTube-like video sharing service for business subscribers that will closely mirror the functionality of YouTube. According to Google company representatives, the new service will enable company management and employees to upload, view and share user generated videos.
The video clips could range from high-level management communications, to employee training videos or industry conference highlights. Once uploaded, all of the video clips can be shared securely with only specific individuals or made public to all company employees, according to the security settings selected for the video.
In a sense, Google is providing an infrastructure to create and manage corporate video-memos, which could effectively replace the current practice of using e-mail memos to corporate officers and employees.
The new service will be made available within Google Apps Premiere edition, which already includes a variety of communications tools, including instant messaging, word processing and spreadsheet software, as well as advanced security applications. The inclusion of a YouTube-like corporate video service is a clear shot across the bow of Microsoft, and demonstrates Google’s eagerness to win over business users of Microsoft’s Office software.
Business analysts say the new Google service could prove very popular with sales and employee training departments, and the added functionality could lure more large companies and organizations away from the popular Microsoft office software.
According to CNN.com, the new video service will all allow companies to store 3 GB of video files, which amounts to approximately 300 minutes of video footage. Users will also have the capability to create groups within their organization, to facilitate sharing videos with only certain users or departments. Additionally, the clips will be available to easily embed in any web page, and there would be a full search function included, allowing individual users to search for a specific “video memo” or training clip by keywords or content.
By hosting all videos on its dedicated servers, Google is making it easy for companies to share internal video communications without investing in dedicated servers and the expensive software necessary to handle video sharing. This could make “YouTube for business” a big hit with small to medium-sized organizations seeking to update their internal communications network.
With Google Premier Apps priced at $50 per user per year, the company is seeking to add extra value to the service, particularly applications that are not available from Microsoft, their largest business competitor. We can expect to see Microsoft and Adobe follow suit in the months to come, rolling out their own business oriented video sharing services to compete with Google.
