For IT managers, reviewing past live event performance is crucial for several reasons, including:

• Identifying bottlenecks and issues to pinpoint specific areas where the network or IT infrastructure struggled
• Optimizing video performance by making necessary upgrades or adjustments to the infrastructure to handle peak loads more efficiently
• Capacity planning, making more accurate predictions about the resources required for upcoming events

By presenting comprehensive data after an event has concluded, Hive’s IT & Network Analytics enables users to thoroughly understand how the webcasting infrastructure behaved throughout eachlive event. This post-event analysis is crucial for identifying strengths and areas of improvement within the IT and network setup.

Although live stream performance metrics become unavailable once an event ends, the visibility of the bitrate graph and the ability to review all graphs for the event’s duration remain. The”Change context” feature continues to allow users to delve into specific aspects of the webcasting ecosystem or sites, ensuring a detailed andcustomizable evaluation – vital for enhancing the quality and reliability of future webcasts.

IT & Network Analytics provides invaluable insights into the performance of the webcasting ecosystem for events that occurred from January 1, 2024, onwards.

IT & Network Analytics offers critical post-event insights into the webcasting ecosystem’s performance, aiding in the enhancement of future live events.

Network testing is an essential step in ensuring the smooth operation of live video streams. By simulating these streams in advance, potential issues can be identified and resolved before they impact the actual broadcast. The network itself plays a critical role in hosting and delivering the stream, as its stability and performance are crucial for a seamless digital employee experience.

There are intelligent tools and functionalities companies can employ to maximize network efficiency. One such tool is Silent Testing, which involves conducting a full-fledged streaming event specifically designed to assess the network’s capabilities. This test involves fetching the stream from all participating endpoints, providing a comprehensive evaluation of the network’s performance. It helps verify that nodes are not overloaded and that communication flows smoothly from start to finish.

If issues are discovered during the test, steps like adjusting video quality or routing traffic differently can enhance network performance and improve the overall streaming experience during the actual event.

Performing this test prior to the actual event serves as a safeguard against unexpected network changes that may have been implemented by company employees, such as the Security or Network teams, which could potentially disrupt the event.

By proactively testing and validating the network, potential issues can be addressed preemptively, ensuring flawless execution during the event.

Buffering, bandwidth constraints, and geographical quality disparities are common hurdles during live streaming – and IT managers are often left in the dark about them until after the fact, when remediation is no longer possible.

Hive’s new generation IT & Network Analytics is the only solution existing to date that enables full insight into the performance of the entire webcasting ecosystem in real time, giving IT Managers the ability to:

• Get detailed insight into CDN throughput, network and stream performance
• Monitor playback quality, including buffering instances and video bitrates
• Zoom in on individual sites and identify specific locations experiencing issues
• Understand what exactly is causing known and emerging issues, including site-specific ones

What’s more, this one-of-a-kind product will soon expand to include even more powerful functionality, including automated webcasting anomaly detection and advanced benchmarking. 

A webcasting ecosystem monitoring tool can help IT managers find, understand the cause of, and resolve known and emerging issues across all sites.

A reliable video optimization tool can help organizations efficiently deliver high-quality video content to a large number of viewers, whether they are located within a single office or spread across multiple branches globally.

One key advantage of video optimization is the enhancement of viewer experience – and, by extension, audience retention and engagement. By optimizing video delivery, enterprises can eliminate buffering, latency, and other issues that may degrade the quality of viewing experience. This leads to improved engagement and satisfaction among employees, whether they are watching live company broadcasts or accessing on-demand training videos.

A video experience optimization tool can help companies maximize the reach and quality of each internal broadcast.

Using a reliable enterprise Content Delivery Network (eCDN) can help companies significantly reduce the load placed on their corporate network and save bandwidth. Hive eCDN runs on intelligent peering algorithms that minimize the need to fetch video content from external sources repeatedly. Instead, video content can be distributed locally between user machines, reducing the strain on external bandwidth. This not only improves network efficiency but also lowers the associated costs of data consumption.

Another critical benefit of using an eCDN is the prevention of network failure. When multiple users within an enterprise simultaneously access video content, it can put a significant burden on corporate network infrastructure, potentially leading to bottlenecks and network congestion. A reliable video delivery tool mitigates this risk by distributing video content efficiently, reducing the overall network load and ensuring a smooth video stream. This prevents network failures and costly recovery efforts.

With eCDN, companies can fortify their existing network infrastructure to prevent failures and save bandwidth, ultimately benefiting both viewers and the enterprise as a whole.

The ability to configure a live stream in real time offers significant benefits to enterprises, particularly in ensuring a seamless viewing experience and avoiding buffering and interruptions. By leveraging this technology, IT and event managers can maintain full control of each broadcast by promptly acting on stream disruption alerts.

One example of this would be lowering the bitrate at low-bandwidth sites, thus optimizing the video delivery to match the available network resources. This adaptive approach allows viewers to enjoy uninterrupted live streams even in challenging network conditions.

One key advantage of live video event stream configuration is the real-time functionality it provides. Enterprises can actively control and adapt the stream while the event is running. This means that if issues arise, such as network congestion or a site experiencing difficulties, administrators have the ability to limit the video quality by lowering the bitrate. By taking this proactive approach, they can prevent buffering and stream interruptions, ensuring a smooth and consistent viewing experience for the entire global audience.

By acting on stream disruption alerts, administrators can respond to network fluctuations or site-specific issues in real time, ensuring optimal streaming conditions and minimizing disruptions.

After each video event, technical insights can provide valuable information about the performance of your video stream and internal communication platforms. This allows to identify issues at various company sites – down to individual device level, pinpointing potential challenges that employees may have encountered during the communication process.

By closely examining stream performance across different platforms, enterprises can assess the level of digital employee experience they provide and how effectively their communications are being delivered across the enterprise. Some questions that may be addressed here include:

• Were employees affected by buffering?
• How many dropped off the live broadcast as a result?
• What was the quality of viewing experience by platform?

Studies show that even a 1% increase in buffering ratio can significantly reduce user engagement with live video content. And the more buffering viewers encounter, that higher the risk that they switch to other tasks during the live stream, or drop off the broadcast altogether.

Another area worth investigating is the performance of different video event platforms within the enterprise. It may sometimes be that case that certain platforms perform better overall, while others may be better suited for specific events or regional requirements. Having platform usage and performance insight enables organizations to make informed decisions and take appropriate actions to enhance the digital employee experience.

For instance, if analytics reveal that Platform One consistently delivers a suboptimal quality of experience, organizations can explore opportunities to improve it. They can invest in necessary upgrades, conduct targeted training sessions, or even consider migrating to a different platform if it better aligns with the digital employee experience goals.

By leveraging video performance analytics, enterprises can proactively address any shortcomings and optimize their communication platforms.

Excellent technical performance, while crucial, is far from being the only thing that matters when it comes to internal communications. What might matter even more is the level of engagement company communications generate among employees.

To understand whether video events resonate with global company offices, one might consider some of the following questions:

• Was audience participation consistent throughout, or did viewers drop off the live stream long before it ended?
• Was the audience fully focused on the presenter/event content?
• How did engagement differ among employees watching from the office or remotely?

In most cases, having access to viewer engagement metrics can provide not just valuable insights, but also offer opportunities for improvement. Is there something that can be learned from the practices of best-performing regions that can be applied to other company sites or divisions? By studying their success, organizations can identify strategies to help enhance engagement across the enterprise.

By leveraging viewer engagement insights, organizations can optimize their communication strategies, foster a more engaged workforce, and continuously enhance the overall effectiveness of internal video communication.

Having access to video event performance and engagement data is only half the battle. What’s even more important is being able to easily share these insights with internal communication stakeholders, including C-Suite executives.
That’s where instant live video event reporting can prove crucial. A focused post-event report can showcase only the most valuable insights to non-technical stakeholders once the live stream has concluded. It can also provide a comprehensive overview of viewer engagement, allowing executives to gauge the effectiveness of corporate communication across the enterprise. By understanding the engagement levels, executives can then tailor their future communications to better resonate with their global employee audience.

Event reports can provide a holistic understanding of viewer engagement, geographic distribution, and variations in employee engagement based on work location. This analysis helps identify potential disparities and tailor communication strategies to bridge any gaps, ensuring that both remote and office-based employees receive equitable engagement opportunities. Armed with these valuable insights, executives can drive effective communication, enhance employee engagement, and ultimately propel the organization’s success by increasing internal alignment among employees.

By leveraging the metrics and insights from instant live video event reports, company executives can make informed decisions and refine their communication strategies.