What is our primary use case?
For Brightcove, we use all of their video products, including video storage and management. We performed a huge migration from a legacy, analog, manual platform. It was not even a platform—it was just manual video consisting of hundreds of thousands of videos to Brightcove.
We were converting analog video files to archived files from Georgia Public Broadcasting, which is part of the National Public Broadcasting Network. I live in the state of Georgia and was an executive at the state of Georgia. Brightcove won the contract through a colleague named Missy. We moved hundreds of thousands of videos from an old legacy platform into Brightcove, and they still use it today. Georgia Public Broadcasting uses that platform, and all of the state of Georgia's video assets are archived and streamed either live or as repeats where you can view something from yesterday or twenty years ago or fifty years ago in that platform. The whole idea was trying to get everything stabilized in a digital world rather than on this analog system that was deteriorating over time.
I recommended it for a client who was a government entity, and I cannot disclose too much because I am under an NDA, but I am a big fan. Brightcove is a fantastic platform. They are doing much more than just video now. There is such a wide variety of content management capabilities. One of the features we really liked was their forward-thinking approach, especially from someone I worked with who came from the AP Newswire, which gave me a lot of respect for her recommendation and her strategic thought about how we should approach moving all this content over. Her team was amazing. I had a very good experience with the product.
Studio is the Brightcove feature I recommended. The Designer piece was also really the two pieces that the client was most interested in. Being able to control layout and video layout was important. One aspect they really liked was the vector video features. Cross-browser mobile capability was one of the most important aspects, which they have revolutionized. Produced video shows up in high quality no matter what kind of device you are on, whether it is an Android or an Apple product or a desktop or a tablet. For this particular client, that was very, very important. They were also producing training videos, which was crucial, including onboarding HR video production and how-to videos. They also did compliance videos, including the required behavior at work training and OSHA training for work safety. Being a federal government entity, they were highly regulated. The ease of use of the platform was critical. Back when I used it years ago, the user interface was easy and required very little training. You could bring in a novice professional marketing person, video production person, or even an administrative person and it did not take a lot of effort getting people up to speed.
I once worked on a Coca-Cola project to migrate and consolidate their websites to Adobe AEM, which was a complex transition. It is partly technology and partly managing human behavior since we are changing mindsets about producing engaging video content.
I know companies include ITA Group that engage Brightcove for managing live feeds during virtual events. They register people through Cvent, but they utilize Brightcove to deliver quality live feeds for attendees.
This feature has become crucial post-COVID for events so that if attendees cannot be physically present, they can still participate. It is more complicated to set up than your typical conferencing software such as Zoom.
What is most valuable?
One of the features we really liked was their forward-thinking approach, especially from someone I worked with who came from the AP Newswire, which gave me a lot of respect for her recommendation and her strategic thought about how we should approach moving all this content over. Her team was amazing. I had a very good experience with the product.
Studio is the Brightcove feature I recommended. The Designer piece was also really the two pieces that the client was most interested in. Being able to control layout and video layout was important. One aspect they really liked was the vector video features. Cross-browser mobile capability was one of the most important aspects, which they have revolutionized. Produced video shows up in high quality no matter what kind of device you are on, whether it is an Android or an Apple product or a desktop or a tablet. For this particular client, that was very, very important. They were also producing training videos, which was crucial, including onboarding HR video production and how-to videos. They also did compliance videos, including the required behavior at work training and OSHA training for work safety.
The integration of Brightcove with Adobe was very seamless. I liked that there were people at Adobe who knew Brightcove very well, and vice versa. That made it easy for both to communicate and made the client feel comfortable about the integration pieces that needed to happen. I am not technical. I am more focused on business strategy and marketing.
Brightcove is known for its high level of hands-on support. You get an account manager and training if you need or want it. There are a lot of benefits to using a platform such as Brightcove, so it was a no-brainer for me that they would choose this product. Their pricing was relatively good. I do not remember the specifics of the package, but we ended up choosing either the enterprise or enterprise plus package.
For analytics, I do not have a lot of experience with advanced analytics. I know it is a capability, but part of the reason we chose them was I have not used that piece of their product, so I would not be able to speak to that.
Brightcove's content security is best of breed. It is why the government uses it a lot. They are in the government's SAM exchange in the United States. Any government agency wanting to use them finds contracting with them easy because they are already in SAM. Everyone pays the same price, and they use it primarily for security.
People at Adobe knew Brightcove very well, and vice versa. That made it easy for both to communicate and made the client feel comfortable about the integration pieces that needed to happen. I am not technical. I am more focused on business strategy and marketing.
Brightcove is undeniably reliable and stable. It is the best of breed, likely in the top one or two platforms available. There is really no other competitor delivering at this level. Their reliability encompasses both technology and personnel, which are crucial. Technical issues can be fixed over time, but it can be challenging to resolve personnel issues as that requires time for training and development. They hire excellent people, and I believe they have strong leadership within the company.
What needs improvement?
Brightcove could improve by making its pricing clearer. I am not a current user, so I do not want to comment extensively on the user interface, but everyone I have spoken to loves it. It is tough to reach a consensus on usability. Often you get a mix of opinions from technical users and those who are not. From a consulting perspective, clearer pricing would benefit them. There were indeed a few features in their product offerings that competing free platforms, including YouTube, offer, although I cannot recall the specifics.
The biggest concern revolved around locking down pricing. The elusive request a quote box could frustrate potential users who just want straightforward estimates rather than to involve another person to clarify costs. My primary concern with Brightcove is the reluctance to publish clear pricing. When faced with their request a quote options, I take a step back because I want to know how much I might be spending upfront based on specific needs, including the volume of videos I intend to manage.
For how long have I used the solution?
I probably last used Brightcove in 2015, so it has been a while. It has probably been ten years. I have not actually been a user since probably 2016.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Brightcove is undeniably reliable and stable. It is the best of breed, likely in the top one or two platforms available.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Georgia Public Broadcasting uses that platform, and all of the state of Georgia's video assets are archived and streamed either live or as repeats where you can view something from yesterday or twenty years ago or fifty years ago in that platform.
Georgia Public Broadcasting wanted Brightcove because back then YouTube and other free services could not scale enough.
Brightcove is undeniably reliable and stable. It is the best of breed, likely in the top one or two platforms available.
How are customer service and support?
Brightcove is known for its high level of hands-on support. You get an account manager and training if you need or want it. There are a lot of benefits to using a platform such as Brightcove, so it was a no-brainer for me that they would choose this product.
My customer was extremely happy from the sales process through implementation. In my past experience with them, it is a total ten. They did everything they could because they wanted that account really bad due to its size and how costly it was.
Their service model is very hands-on, but the platform is so easy to use that you do not need a lot of support. If you can use Instagram or Facebook, you can pick it up really easily, which prevents people from being left behind or slowing down progress.
How was the initial setup?
From my perspective as a consultant, I find the initial setup of Brightcove totally straightforward and easy. It was not so back ten years ago. While it was not bad, it was new to everyone. Ten to twenty years ago, content management felt fresh and complex to many of us.
Brightcove was ahead of its time, and the implementation process for the federal client I worked with was simple. They successfully migrated their content without significant complications. They really had a great implementation team and a client that believed in the need for this system.
What about the implementation team?
The integration of Brightcove with Adobe was very seamless. I liked that there were people at Adobe who knew Brightcove very well, and vice versa. That made it easy for both to communicate and made the client feel comfortable about the integration pieces that needed to happen.
I had Missy on the Brightcove side and a person named Jane on the Adobe side, along with three technical and business strategy people supporting the integration.
What was our ROI?
Everyone uses it a lot. They are in the government's SAM exchange in the United States. Any government agency wanting to use them finds contracting with them easy because they are already in SAM. Everyone pays the same price, and they use it primarily for security.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
They do not want to be the most expensive but do not want to give it away for free either. The more you used it, the cheaper it got per piece.
What other advice do I have?
Brightcove was a little smaller back then, but they were still enterprise-level for us. With a government contract, you have to go through very complicated procurement processes, so it was a long, about a year-long process to win the deal and then two years to get us operational. That was due to the sheer volume of videos we were trying to produce.
The biggest risk lies with security and privacy, and Brightcove excels in that aspect. Huge government agencies use them, and knowing that they handle significant clients like banks and financial institutions is worth any extra expense for a service that ensures your content is trusted and compliant with relevant laws. They have had decades to build and develop that security, supported by high-paying customers.
Based on my comprehensive experience with Brightcove, I would rate them an eight or nine. They serve certain businesses exceptionally well, particularly large clients with considerable content, security, or privacy needs, including government agencies or significant corporations such as Walmart. Other solutions might be more suitable for smaller clients or those without extensive media needs. My overall rating for this review is an eight out of ten.