It’s no secret that in this digital age, video is everywhere. Most of us watch videos on Youtube or Facebook at least once every day, and with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many of us to work remotely from home, video conferencing via platforms like Zoom or Skype is now the norm in our day-to-day activities.
As a result of this phenomenon, many businesses are now looking to invest more in videos, and many are now looking to build their own video solutions where they can use their own logo, brand colors, and even custom-tailored features.
Programmable video API can provide organizations with a more time-efficient and cost-effective solution for this purpose, so businesses can get video functionalities on an application or solution that is totally their own, both for branding purposes and to ensure the video application stays compliant with regulations and security best practices.
Programmable Video: What Is It?
We can use the term “programmable video” to refer to two things:
- A “white-label” video solution, where a software developer develops or licenses a video application solution while incorporating the client’s (your) logo, brand elements, and even custom features and functionalities. White label video conferencing software like Callbridge offers such features.
- Integrating a programmable video to an existing application or brand new application, so that this application will gain access to video features and functionalities without requiring the business to develop these video features from scratch.
In this guide, we will specifically discuss programmable video API and its benefits.
What Is Programmable Video API?
First, what is API?
API stands for Application Programming Interface and is essentially a piece of code that acts as an interface, a bridge between a software solution (application) to another application (or multiple applications at once.
In practice, an API can “teach” an application so it can use another application’s (the application providing the API) features and functions. So, in the case of a programmable video API, the API bridges a video solution (i.e. a video conferencing software) to another application, allowing the latter application to get video features without all the development involved.
Why Do You Need a Programmable Video API?
When a business wants to move on from off-the-shelf video applications and solutions like YouTube and Zoom with their limitations, a viable option is to build this solution from scratch.
If you have the technical know-how, then you can build the video application by yourself, but most likely you’ll need to hire an in-house software developer or outsource the project to a software development firm. This, obviously, can get very expensive real fast.
However, building your own solution from scratch is not only expensive but also difficult and potentially time-consuming. Building and testing the video solution until it’s ready for launch can take months and even years, especially if your business operates in a heavily regulated industry where video solutions must stay in compliance with specific regulations, like HIPAA in the healthcare industry.
On the other hand, if we opt to stay with third-party solutions like Zoom, we are limited by the platform’s regulations. For example, we’ll only get very limited opportunities to include our logo, brand colors, and other brand elements, and most likely we won’t be able to add custom features.
This is where programmable video API comes in to bring the best of both worlds.
By integrating a programmable video API into your application, you can cut the lengthy and complex development time, and you can also get the most freedom in adding your brand elements and custom features as you see fit.
By partnering with the right programmable video API vendor, your application can gain access to the established video service’s functionalities, ensuring you’ll get reliable video features on your application.
What To Look For In Your Programmable Video API
Not all programmable video vendors offer the same set of features and quality of services. Thus, it’s important to choose the right vendor according to your business’s needs and the purposes of your video solution.
With that being said, here are some key factors to consider before committing to a programmable video API:
1. Features
It’s important to first figure out your needs in a programmable video API: what features are crucial for your goals, and which are nice to have but not very important. The general principle is to choose the most affordable and accessible solution that provides the critical features you’re looking for.
2. Ease of Use
A very important consideration when integrating an API is that it should be intuitive and easy enough to use by the users. If even getting the video features up and running is already difficult, then there’s no point in using the API. Remember that you are integrating the API to simplify things, not to add further complications.
3. Reliability
Both in terms of service quality and security. The API should be reliable enough so it doesn’t produce issues like connectivity eros, frozen screens, and so on. On the other hand, the API vendor should follow data security best practices and have the adequate infrastructure to protect your confidential information.
4. Flexibility and Scalability
Assuming you are planning to grow your business, then you should choose a programmable video vendor that can ‘follow’ you. Also, make sure it’s versatile enough so you can modify it and add/subtract features according to your current news.
Conclusion
Programmable video offers a more cost-effective and time-efficient solution for your business to gain video features on your applications without the hassle of lengthy development time. By integrating a programmable video API, you’ll get a fully customizable video solution while also avoiding the need for hosting and managing your own solution.
