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How to Optimize Your Network for Live Video in 60 Seconds

browser-based peering

If you want to deliver live video to all your employees but don’t want to invest in hardware, download software or purchase additional bandwidth, you need Kollective Browser-Based Peering . Our enterprise content delivery network (ECDN) is powered by WebRTC technology – that means all you need to get started is a browser.

Signing up for a free trial of Kollective is so easy, it can take as little as 60 seconds. Here’s the proof: 

 

Choose the right ecdn

When optimizing your network for live video, make sure you pick the ECDN that will scale with your business. Kollective Browser-Based Peering will help you exceed expectations for high-quality events by delivering buffer-free video to every employee, regardless of their location, device or bandwidth capacity.  

WHY KOLLECTIVE BROWSER-BASED PEERING?

  • Simplicity: Auto-provision your ECDN trial in 60 seconds. Kollective is the ONLY WebRTC solution that lets you sign up, choose your integration, configure it, and try it immediately – for FREE!  
  • Intelligence: Confidently deliver high-quality video streams. Our browser-based solution uses smart peering algorithms that tune to your network, delivering the intelligence you need – no agent required.  
  • Control: Scale live video to the network edge. From out-of-the-box configurations to advanced bitrate and playback controls, Kollective puts the power of peering in your hands.  
  • Analytics: Customize live events and network insights. Instantly see your aggregate performance metrics or dig into the data down to a single node or endpoint with Kollective IQ Analytics. 

STAY ON THE FOREFRONT OF ENTERPRISE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND SECURITY

With enterprise video gaining traction worldwide – it’s safe to say video communications are likely a focus of your organization’s 2021 digital transformation goals . Kollective makes it easy to save bandwidth and deliver high-quality video, whether your personnel are working physically distanced in the office, remotely or at home. 

In addition to saving your organization up to 99% of bandwidth, Kollective Browser-Based Peering is Secure by Design. Our ECDN uses standard web-based protocols with all data transfers encrypted and signed. We do not receive, store or process customer content, nor are we able to decrypt the source content.

MAKE SMARTER DECISIONS FASTER

Kollective IQ is the only enterprise-ready analytics and intelligence platform intuitively designed for the way you work. Whether you’re a network administrator, manager of a corporate communications team or a video producer, Kollective IQ is designed with intuitive workflows that simplify data exploration to help you make intelligent decisions, fast.  

In addition to standard network and event workflows, Kollective IQ lets you to choose which data sets you want to highlight. Create the custom dashboards, metrics and visualizations that align with your business goals and then save them for future reference.  

Kollective IQ makes it easy to package and send data when and where you need it. Easily automate your data imports with simple data export tools and database integrations, connecting Kollective IQ to the leading business intelligence platforms on the market. 

ADD KOLLECTIVE TO YOUR NETWORK

Now that you know more about Kollective Browser-Based Peering, it’s time to add it to your network. Sign up for a free 30-day trial.

The post How to Optimize Your Network for Live Video in 60 Seconds appeared first on Kollective Technology .

To view our Partner blog, click here

Distributed Devices: Reaching The Edge In The Age of IoT

analytics

The world of work is changing. From cloud computing systems to remote working opportunities, technological innovations are becoming an integral part of our professional lives.

As part of this changing culture, businesses are increasingly contending with how to incorporate the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) into the modern office environment. Wearable technology, smart gadgets and intelligent lighting systems are just a few examples of hardware that IT departments will soon add to their internal networks.

But just like any other machine on a company’s network, it’s vital that these IoT devices receive regular updates for maximum security and functionality.

This presents a complicated problem for IT managers to solve — with the IoT bringing new operating systems, new update schedules and thousands of new devices into the workplace.

Given so many of these devices will operate at the edge of the corporate network, how can IT departments connect their IoT devices at scale and ensure they stay up to date without putting a huge strain on existing IT systems and network infrastructure?

To understand these concerns, and explore the future direction of enterprise content delivery, we at Kollective are pleased to announce the launch of our latest research report: Distributed Devices: How Today‘s IT Leaders Are Taking Their Businesses To The Edge.

This report draws on research from 270+ IT decision makers across the US and UK, providing insights into what companies must examine when integrating the IoT into their systems and the role that Software-Defined Enterprise Content Delivery Networks (SD-ECDN) will play in the future of Enterprise IT and IoT update distribution.

The post Distributed Devices: Reaching The Edge In The Age of IoT appeared first on Kollective Technology .

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Enterprise Video Broadcasts Increase Culture, Engagement and Productivity

CMMA Blog

Why has video broadcasting become one of the most vital tools for any large-scale enterprise? It comes down to three key benefits that can boost how a business connects with its own employees: Culture, Engagement and Productivity.

An astounding 50% of the global workforce will be Millennials by next year (2020), according to PWC – and they have a totally different approach to learning and entertainment from previous generations.

This is a maturing generation of highly educated people who watch YouTube videos to learn how to tie a bowtie or make the perfect craft cocktail. They binge-watch TV shows on Netflix or Amazon Prime. They catch up on the latest news or sports highlights with Twitter videos. Quite simply, it is more natural for them to watch a video than to read an email.

For large enterprises, this is creating an exciting new need to develop great video content, and to encourage their own staff to use the medium to become ambassadors for their own company.

Belgium’s largest bank, KBC Group, with more than 16,000 employees in Belgium and 42,000 worldwide, massively improved the quality of their internal communications using video. They have also taken it to the next level by encouraging staff to share their own videos including presentations and training materials.

Let’s look at the three key benefits of using video extensively across the enterprise, as they relate to KBC Bank.

Culture:

• Diversity & Inclusion – KBC wanted to harness the talents of all their people and help them feel included, well-trained and up to date on management decisions.

• Transparency – it was vital for the Board to be open and honest about the direction the company was headed.

• Trust – after the 2008 crash, trust in the banking sector was at an all-time low and KBC wanted to demonstrate how they do things differently: encouraging their employees to become ambassadors was a great way to do this.

Engagement:

• Alignment – KBC was able to provide unprecedented communications initiatives both internally and externally so that all employees understood the company direction.

• Purpose – this gave a new purpose to employees, with open, honest and engaging communication across the organisation, helping management and staff understand that their role at KBC is bigger than their job.

• Retention – the video programme helped to improve retention of talented and motivated staff. KBC’s video programme helped with engagement which is proven to help with retention.

Productivity:

• User Generated Value – KBC encourages staff to make their own quality content with easily-accessible portable video equipment, enabling every employee to become an ambassador. This has resulted in a huge upsurge in bottoms-up video with a 1500% increase in video production and distribution over five years.

• Training – both HR-driven and employee-led training is more accessible to all employees, thanks to video.

• Time to Market – KBC is moving quicker in its operations, while video distribution times have dropped from two hours to just two minutes. The KBC example is just one where Kollective has worked with a large enterprise to transform their communications philosophy and methods with hands-on support and technology.

The KBC example is just one where Kollective has worked with a large enterprise to transform their communications philosophy and methods with hands-on support and technology.

The post Enterprise Video Broadcasts Increase Culture, Engagement and Productivity appeared first on Kollective Technology .

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The T Word: Transparency, Trust and Microsoft Teams

CMMA Blog

As Satya Nadella prepared to take the stage last Wednesday morning at Microsoft Inspire, the tens of thousands of Microsoft partners and employees packed tightly inside the T-Mobile arena sat in anticipation of a Corenote speech from the man credited not only with the turnaround around of Microsoft’s fortunes, but with completely rebuilding company culture.

If last year’s speech focused on the importance of people-centric experiences and of measuring ourselves ‘not by technology for technology’s sake, but how we are empowering people’, this year’s keynote felt like a natural extension of that theme – addressing the importance of democratization of digital transformation, and of both corporate and individual trust.

Amidst the staggering numbers on display illustrating the rapid evolution of the digital workplace, HoloLens 2 conjuring up a hologram capable of real-time language translation, and an amusingly impressive augmented reality MineCraft demo that made Legoland look like an afternoon in the DMV; at the core of Satya’s speech, a simple line resonated more than any other:

You cannot claim trust, you have to earn it. Each day.

As effective as it was simple, that statement summed up the very reason that queues had formed outside the T-Mobile Arena more than two hours before the doors opened and the reason that Microsoft reaffirmed its position as the most valuable company on earth just two days later. Its importance and application was also perfectly illustrated by the first three numbers displayed behind Satya as he began his Corenote.

Trust is what forges the bond between Satya and his 100,000 employees, trust is what permeates the relationship between Microsoft and its partners’ 17 million employees, and trust is the way Microsoft will achieve Satya’s stated goal of having an impact on every one of the 7 billion people on this planet.

While these are undoubtedly grand figures with an impact on the very grandest scale, the statement resonated with me on a far more individual level.

Earlier in the week, when Gavriella Schuster stood alongside the Kollective logo during her Corenote speech, discussing the most impactful Teams integrations, and later, when Hao Tang, Senior Product Partner Manager at Microsoft presented Kollective as a Teams ‘Solution that Customers Love’ during her own session, the common factor that lead to these acknowledgements is trust. Trust between Kollective, our customers, our partners and Microsoft.

Gavriella Inspire 300x175 1

My first week at Kollective coincided with the bi-annual Customer Council ; an event at which a select number of our customers present to other existing, new and prospective customers about the difference Kollective has made on their organization.

Watching our customers take the stage to share stories and videos about the immediate and long-term impact Kollective has had on company culture was my first exposure to the ultimate example of trust realized.

Trust is not just a core component of the Kollective solution – giving our customers the confidence to host global, mission-critical live video events in the knowledge they can touch every employee regardless of location – moreover, trust is the foundation upon which every interaction at the heart of Kollective is built.

Now, more than ever, in an age of half-truths, fake news and misinformation, trust is the universal truth to every successful relationship and equally as important as the act itself, is the act of respecting its fragility and acknowledging the fact that it must, indeed, be earned each and every day.

While the most uttered, fastest-growing and exciting T-word at this year’s Microsoft Inspire was Teams, the most fundamental that has made all of that possible, is undoubtedly Trust.

The post The T Word: Transparency, Trust and Microsoft Teams appeared first on Kollective Technology .

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​Branch Cache Vs. Peer Cache Vs. Delivery Optimization Vs. Distribution Points

branch cache

Throughout the various iterations of ConfigMgr (SCCM), we have seen numerous technologies integrated into the management platform. These integrations were either directly or indirectly built to help administrators tackle the challenges presented when managing thousands of devices in an enterprise at scale.

The current wave of these which I want to talk about are primarily aimed at addressing 3 critical areas:

  1. Efficient deployment and management of Windows devices
  2. Mechanisms to streamline existing ConfigMgr infrastructure
  3. Effective utilization of WAN bandwidth

So firstly, why do we need to think or address these areas?

Organisations are often more globally dispersed with 10’s if not 100’s of offices spread throughout different regions. These remote offices put an ever-increasing strain on the infrastructure and networks required to operate in these scenarios. ConfigMgr is a scalable solution, however, in the past this would typically mean that IT departments would continue to deploy Distribution Points to each of the regional offices to provide management and Software deployment services for endpoints at each of these locations. The issue becomes that this approach can frequently introduce just as many problems for IT as it intends to solve, thus increasing the infrastructure footprint when organisations are generally looking to reduce infrastructure and move away from on-prem services and solutions. Finally, if you don’t deploy the Distribution Point infrastructure and perhaps opt for remote software deployment services, then this will inevitably only increase the strain on organisations Wide Area Network (WAN) links often causing congestion with a whole host of application and business services all fighting for a piece of the available (and sometimes limited) bandwidth. This ultimately, doesn’t help IT or the business drive efficiencies.

Keeping pace with new trends

One key area that brings this topic into sharp focus has been the trend of the “as a Service” (aaS) model, and specifically Windows 10. Windows 10 is delivered leveraging the Windows as a Service (WaaS) model. Unlike Operating Systems of the past that would have a pre-defined life-cycle and interim updates to maintain stability and security, this means that Windows 10 will be perpetually updated on an on-going basis much like we experience with other technology platforms such as our smartphones. In my opinion, this is a largely positive move as it will provides far greater control on which version(s) can exist; and by ‘exist’, I mean ‘be supported’. It enables Microsoft to introduce new features incrementally, ensuring ongoing support for technological changes can be satisfied. But, as we have seen, the operating system improvements in sophistication and complexity also means an increase in the size of updates required to service and maintain the core system. One area where this has presented a challenge in the Enterprise space is understanding how organisations will maintain this ongoing change, and a key aspect of this is the systems used to managed and maintain these systems today ConfigMgr.

As they also recognise that simply deploying more hardware isn’t going to work anymore, Microsoft has been working hard to provide alternatives to the traditional ‘just deploy more hardware’ solution. They are opting to adopt software-defined solutions to help organisations with this technology change.

That’s a good thing, right? Well… yes. However, I also believe that Microsoft is also driving these solutions in the knowledge that adopting software-defined solutions will be the most effective way for organisations to adopt and embrace a Win10 (WaaS) operating platform.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly (you decide)

From my point of view, there are now three clear alternatives to deployment of traditional infrastructure (hardware-based distribution points) and these are:

1. Branch Cache

Branch cache technology was originally introduced into the Windows Server platform as a way for file servers to cache recently accessed files providing faster load times for end-users to access files and content. More recently, this tech has also been integrated into ConfigMgr allowing administrators to leverage this caching solution for software-based content at each site where it doesn’t necessarily stack up to deploy a traditional Distribution Point. Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks to this method with the primary one being that this solution is largely a ‘black box’ with very few options for configuration and, more importantly. no easy way of monitoring what content is cached.

Pros:

  • Easy to set-up
  • Can handle non ConfigMgr content types
  • Supports de-duplication

Cons

  • No management or reporting interface (difficult to know what content is cached)
  • Requires separate cache location for ConfigMgr for content storage (duplicated cached content)
  • Doesn’t natively support WinPE out of the box
  • Limited to Subnet based discovery broadcasts (problematic in wireless networks where broadcast may be disabled)

2. Peer Cache

Microsoft’s recent integration enables ConfigMgr clients to share content with other Peer cache enabled clients. This now utilizes the LEDBAT transport to efficiently manage network activity during a caching event to ensure that the network doesn’t become saturated when sharing content.

Pros

  • Directly integrated in ConfigMgr, so any enabled device can perform this function
  • Supports partial content download, so client can serve content as soon as the first blocks are available
  • Utilizes the efficient LEDBAT data transfer technology to reduce network congestion

Cons

  • Client peering scoping is limited to ConfigMgr client site boundary groups which can become complex to manage due to the number required and can limit peering capabilities down to smaller groups of end-points
  • ConfigMgr scheduled deployments can cause multiple end-points peering from origin sources, reducing the peering efficiency achieved

3. Delivery Optimization

Microsoft’s integrated peering solution introduced into the Windows 10 platform is a peer-to-peer client update service that uses both local and remote end-points (via the internet) to deliver Win10 updates and Windows store applications.

Pros

  • Integrated directly into the OS, easy to enable / configure
  • Standalone solution not requiring ConfigMgr integration (great for SMB’s)
  • No upfront costs

Cons

  • Only supports Win10 endpoints
  • Limited ‘use case’ for content deployment (only supports Updates and Store Apps)
  • No centralized management (no reporting or analytics)
  • No control over content
  • Requires extensive boundary configuration

No such thing as a free lunch

Now don’t get me wrong, the Microsoft tools and integrations to solve the challenge of providing efficient deliveries while reducing and simplifying your ConfigMgr infrastructure are very effective, but as you might start to see, no single solution can act as holistic solution to solve this problem. In fact, from many discussions with customers and working at the coalface on this, I have come to realise that you will most likely need to implement all these technologies in parallel as point solutions to achieve a successful outcome.

Well that’s alright. After all, they are free to use?

You have probably heard the phrase “No such thing as a free lunch” and when we are presented with this potential offer, we should be thinking “what’s the catch”?

All of us in both our professional and personal lives are offered free (at the point of use) software, services and offers. However, sometimes we need to consider ‘does free really mean free’? Often what we need to do is take a step back and examine the bigger picture to the problem we are trying to solve. If we accept free services do these have a catch and/or a drawback? When evaluating these free solutions, I recommend considering the following aspects:

  • Does the solution provide all the capabilities and features we require to address the problem?
  • Are there going to be hidden costs further down the line?
  • Is the solution going to require additional work or effort on our side?
  • Do we have enough time, knowledge and resources to support the additional effort required to manage any functional deficits?

The Toolbox Vs. the Contractor

Given the above, we can all sometimes solve a problem by ourselves utilizing a ‘Do It Yourself’ approach. In my personal life, I have been going through a house refurbishment, so I’ll use that analogy here. I have often asked myself “Do I just DIY this, or do I need to bring in the professionals?”. I go through a very similar thought process to consider the upsides and downsides to each option. Some considerations when pondering the DIY approach:

  • Up-skilling – Will I need to build my knowledge around the area of work I’m looking to take on?
  • Time – Do I have the time to invest in doing the job myself, as it will take me more time than a professional to achieve the same task?
  • Outcome – Will I be happy and/or satisfied with the result? Will it be delivered to the standard required?
  • Risk – Are there significant risks associated with undertaking the work? Would a professional with proven experience mitigate these?
  • Cost – Considering the possible mistakes and/or overlook of the previous considerations, will doing the work myself really save me money?

So, it certainly makes sense to me that we make the same evaluations in our commercial / professional lives. Yes, we can do a job ourselves, but we may not achieve the desired outcome or to an acceptable standard, and this I think is certainly true when considering the free Microsoft solutions. Do you muddle through and hope for the best outcome whilst increasing your operational overheads and perhaps not achieving your strategic goals, or do you engage and procure a premium solution that delivers all the functionality and capabilities required to ensure a successful outcome? Sometimes, letting the professionals take care of it can add immense value to your organisation by leveraging their many years of expertise and importantly delivering all the functional specifications in a single ‘one stop shop’ solution.

Closing summary

There are many options to consider when re-defining your ConfigMgr infrastructure. What is clearly apparent is that a traditional approach of simply deploying more and more Distribution Points won’t help to scale your infrastructure to meet the demands of the modern workplace, WaaS and the on-going servicing and maintenance demands these changes will make on your environment.

The post ​Branch Cache Vs. Peer Cache Vs. Delivery Optimization Vs. Distribution Points appeared first on Kollective Technology .

To view our Partner blog, click here

​Windows 7 is Dead: Prepare for Cloud-Based Windows 10

CMMA Blog

Mark the date — on January 14, 2020, Microsoft is officially sending Windows 7 to the big server in the sky and ending included support for its popular operating system. This move will put a stop to vital security updates and patches that thousands of organizations still rely on worldwide.

Once a respectful period of mourning has been observed, businesses who don’t opt for the expensive stop gap, will have to turn their attention to migrating to the Windows 10 system, which will work in a drastically different way than before.

Moving to the ‘as a Service’ model

Described as the ‘last windows operating system’, Windows 10 will operate ‘as a Service’ with users being required to update regularly, instead of the previous process of migrating to a whole new OS every few years.

Research shows that 96% of businesses have already started the transition to Windows 10; however, making this process as quick and pain-free as possible will be crucial to IT operations.

This new ‘Windows as a Service’ model will come with a unique set of challenges. Monthly quality updates or bug fixes will normally be under 1GB; whereas bi-yearly feature updates can be up to 5GB. Due to the increased frequency and size of these updates, IT teams will have limited time for testing and distribution.

Currently, 79% of organizations don’t install updates immediately, and a further 53% wait at least a month before they’re able to install vital operating system updates across their entire network.

Tricky transitions

Simply ignoring this distribution problem could be disastrous for businesses, creating an exponential build-up of outdated machines that creates serious security liabilities. Being vulnerable to cyber-attacks and data breaches is a risk that organizations simply cannot take in the modern era.

The nuclear option is to rip out the entire network and start from scratch. In the long term this will help with the speed of your updates, however in the short term it can cause huge disruption to your IT infrastructure — taking budget and resources away from more immediate concerns.

IT professionals need an answer to this problem that’s both cost-effective and quickly implementable.

Software to the rescue

Luckily, there is another way. Using a Software-Defined Enterprise Content Delivery Network (SD ECDN), businesses can streamline the delivery of updates for Windows 10.

In brief, a SD ECDN uses a peer-to-peer system that evenly distributes bandwidth. The higher the number of peers, the faster the network can deliver content, meaning even existing hardware can contribute to ensuring you have the crucial security patches you need for Windows 10.

And, you won’t have to overhaul the entire network. With the Kollective SD ECDN, enterprises can speed-up software distribution, smoothly transition to Windows 10 and be future-proofed against other cloud-service updates — all using your existing infrastructure.

Our software has many other benefits beyond just helping you survive the Windows 7 apocalypse, but being prepared for this critical change should be a major priority for organizations who want to keep data secure and IT services up to date in the cloud-service era.

Ciena solves software delivery headache with Kollective for ConfigMgr.

In less than 6 months, Microsoft will end included support for Windows 7. One-fifth of large enterprises have yet to complete their migration to Windows 10. Learn how to prepare for the end of Windows 7 and manage the regular cadence of Windows as a Service updates.

The post ​Windows 7 is Dead: Prepare for Cloud-Based Windows 10 appeared first on Kollective Technology .

To view our Partner blog, click here