If nothing else, the folks at
Qumu sure do know how to throw a counter-punch.
In one fell swoop, Qumu had to deal with the loss of a high-profile selling partner while having to explain to the world how a direct competitor had been able to snare a long-coveted deal to sell itself to a larger technology company trying to expand its footprint in the world of online video content management.
Rather than licking its wounds, however, Qumu came out swinging today, announcing a major initiative designed to transform the prospect of mobile video in the business sector into an achievable corporate communications reality. Intentional or not, Qumu essentially is making the case that the world of video conferencing embodied by its turncoat ally Polycom (
News 
-
Alert) represents that past of video communications while mobile venues offer opportunities for new growth in the business video sector.
Qumu certainly is not alone in targeting the mobile business video space. A range of technology vendors are in the process of developing solutions designed to enhance mobile video communications in the enterprise. The significance of today’s announcement from Qumu is that the company becomes the first vendor to spell out a definitive strategy for fostering the adoption of mobile video in the enterprise.
The linchpin of Qumu’s new offerings is a piece of software it calls “QSim,” a system that makes it possible for even non-engineers to rapidly develop and display prototype iPhone (
News -
Alert) applications incorporating video. The interactive prototypes are designed on PCs, where the applications also are displayed in on-screen mock-ups designed to mimic the look and feel of the iPhone.
More than anything, the QSim software is a key selling tool for a vendor like Qumu that is trying to educate would-be customers on how video can be used in the mobile environment. With QSim, Qumu and its partners are able to rapidly develop the basic framework of applications in a way that gives corporate decision makers a representative feel of how video-enriched communications applications are likely to work in the mobile environment.
The QSim approach sets the stage for a fundamental sea-change in the way that video technology vendors go about selling their wares in the corporate world. Rather than talking about video, per se, Qumu is helping to shift the customer discussion to the applications that can be enriched through the implementation of video.
“For us to prototype how video itself is delivered to mobile devices would not be enough,” says Todd Porter, Qumu’s vice president of product innovation and marketing. “We have to show customers how video actually works within an application.”
In short, seeing is selling. And QSim is vital because it helps Qumu’s sales team and partners alike to develop application prototypes rapidly at a low cost. That is more conducive to building a new market for mobile video adoption that would be the case if Qumu had to invest thousands of dollars in prototypes that demonstrate the capabilities of its content management system in the mobile environment.
The low-cost prototype option also opens the door to a selling strategy in which Qumu can target more narrowly defined vertical markets than has typically been the case in the enterprise business video technology sector. The prototype engine makes it possible to cost effectively developed prototype mobile video applications that resonate even with well-defined market sectors.
“Customers want to know what the apps will look like because they have to sell them to their boss,” Porter said. “If we’re going to attack those verticals, you have to be able to quickly develop applications for a specific vertical market. But you simply can’t afford to devote entire teams to developing those prototypes again and again.”
Indeed, Qumu appears devoted to creating a culture of application development that leverages its solutions in the enterprise. Other roll-outs announced by Qumu today include a software development kit that simplifies the process of linking a mobile device with the Qumu content management system. In addition, the company announced a program for certifying developers who have the background necessary for developing mobile applications that can integrate into the Qumu environment.
“What people want on their mobile device is an app, not a browser,” said Qumu Chief Executive Officer Ray Hood. “We don’t want to become an app shop. We offer the permission, management and control infrastructure that makes video-enriched apps work on mobile devices."
Steve Vonder Haar is Research Director and Founder of Interactive Media Strategies (News - Alert) and is responsible for the firm's coverage of the enterprise Web Communications sector. To read more of his articles, please visit please visit his columnist page.Edited by
Patrick Barnard 
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