Writing an RFP for Maximum ROI
Here are questions to ask about viewership metrics:
—Does the reporting system track and record all aspects of the viewer experience?
—Does the reporting system have graphical representations of viewers or use mapping techniques?
—Can the reporting be customized? How?
—In what ways can your reporting system integrate with other internal or third-party systems?
—What elements are included?
—Can users access reports directly (on demand)?
Product Installation. As you begin to think about product installation, you will need to start making decisions about installation, hosting, and servers. A critical question, and one that can rule out certain vendors, is whether or not you should install on-site or in the newer SaaS model. With SaaS, the complete offering is hosted by the vendor. You can access this software to create your webcast. This is similar to the Salesforce.com model, in which the site provides software that can be used in a browser to manage sales leads and opportunities. If you want to roll out video webcasting products quickly without investing a lot of resources into installation and maintenance, you should consider vendors who offer a SaaS delivery model. On the flip side, if your company’s IT philosophy is to hold all content behind the firewall, you should narrow down the selection to vendors who offer on-site solutions. Make sure the software can integrate with existing streaming servers or servers you intend to install.
In addition to selecting the right software, you will also need to decide how you will stream or deliver the video to your audience. One key infrastructure question is whether you should set up your own streaming servers, use a content distribution network (CDN) provider, or use your vendor’s streaming solution. Certain webcasting solutions cannot be purchased unless your company has its own streaming servers, while others give you the flexibility to connect to the vendor’s solution. Connecting to your own streaming server with an on-site solution gives you control over the content along with the ability to put it behind your firewall. However, setting up an external CDN account allows you to avoid installation and maintenance of in-house streaming servers. If you are trying to make the installation as easy as possible and would like to avoid lengthy CDN contracts, it may be worthwhile to start with the webcasting vendor’s CDN setup and bring it in-house later.
Here are questions to ask about product installation:
—Are your solutions SaaS-based or do you offer software for installation at the customer’s site?
—How is the content published and where is it hosted?
—Do you offer software- or hardware-based solutions? Can I log in to the system from anywhere (i.e., is it a browser-based system)?
—Can I connect to my own streaming server or CDN provider? Which ones do you support or do you offer your own?
—What are the steps involved in setup and configuration of your systems? Do you provide on-site and/or remote installation assistance?
—Overall, how long does installation take?
Product Technology. In today’s dynamic business environment, your webcasting solution must have a flexible and scalable architecture. Make sure the vendor has designed its solution and product line to be scaled along with your organization. In addition, consider whether the solution is based on open standards and whether it has web service APIs that will allow you to integrate your webcasting program with existing or future systems.
Here are questions to ask about product technology:
—Do you have APIs and/or SDKs for programmatic control and access to the abilities of your system?
—Do you support web services as an option for programmatic control and access to the abilities of your system?
—Can you list which features of your system offer programmatic access and which do not?
—Is your application web-enabled (i.e., browser-based)?
—What types of servers are required for operation of your system?
—Is your application capable of being distributed over multiple servers?
—What is a typical configuration that would allow for complete redundancy with no single point of failure? Are there any single points of failure on your server side implementation?
—Does your software offer clear architectural layering between presentation, business logic, and data? Can you provide a diagram of the architecture of your software applications?
—Does your company provide well-documented user guides for your software applications? If so, please provide an electronic copy of the guides you feel would be applicable to our requirements.
Security. Security is an important consideration for your webcasting solution. Hosting content either behind the firewall or with an external CDN with built-in security could meet your security needs. More and more companies are discovering that CDNs provide stringent levels of security while offering ease of maintenance and the flexibility to choose between a SaaS or on-site solution.
There are a number of key components you may want to look for based on your security needs. First, you should look for a product that allows you to set secure login requirements for content creation. It should also give you the ability to set rights for different projects and users of the webcasting software. Finally, your solution should offer viewer permissions that give users control over who can see each webcast.
Here are questions to ask about security:
—What security features are included in both a hosted and an enterprise installation environment of your application?
—What levels of security are available?
—Does your system offer the ability to assign access to users on a function-by-function basis? If so, please describe.
—What audit trail functionality is built into your software?
—How can users ensure that webcast content is not accessible by those not authorized to view that content?
—Does your system have the ability to restrict viewers based on IP address and/or domain?
—Does your system integrate with lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) or Active Directory?
Asset and Content Management
The assets and content associated with webcasting can be subdivided into three categories: Asset management refers to the handling of preproduction elements, such as logos, videos, and PowerPoint documents; content management concerns postproduction files, or the actual webcasts; and a content portal is the front door into your content management system—a way for viewers to consume published content and for creators to access all content in one central place. These three capabilities may be offered as part of a webcasting system or may each be a unique offering, but you should consider your needs in all of these areas.
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14 Dec 2011