Incorporating Video in Your Enterprise Mobility Application

Video on mobile devices is powerful.  I started blogging about videos in mobile applications about three years ago, but at that time it was only available on Windows Mobile devices via a link to a browser that connected to YouTube or other video sites.  Today mobile devices take and support HD video natively.  YouTube can now be an application on your device, and with the new iPhone's FaceTime application you can have real time video (if speaking to another iPhone 4 user).  All interesting, but how can it be used by the enterprise?

I believe training videos embedded in mobile device widgets or in your mobile enterprise application can be very useful.  The videos can also be multilingual.  I can image a field service technician installing a new piece of equipment and having challenges.  He/she clicks on the related video widget in their mobile field services application and watches how the equipment should be installed.  I can also imagine the field service technician video recording his work in real time and getting advice from a distant expert.

A quick three minute "How To" video, that is run on your smartphone, could communicate what it takes six pages of documentation and 30 minutes to read.  I can see embedded videos being used in many areas including:

• Implementation instructions
• Customer service strategies
• Product features and functions
• Sales instructions
• Business process instructions
• Safety videos
• Repair and maintenance instructions
• Company policies on various topics
• Best practices...etc.

Gil Bouhnick, Director of Mobility at ClickSoftware, recently wrote about using video widgets on mobile enterprise applications on his blog Mobilefever, http://clicksoftware-mobilefever.blogspot.com/2010/07/importance-of-training-in-enterprise.html.

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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
CEO/Principal Consultant, Netcentric Strategies LLC
http://www.netcentric-strategies.com/
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://twitter.com/krbenedict

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant and Web 2.0 marketing expert. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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