In the dynamic landscape of business operations, Video Analytics emerges as a game-changer, reshaping how companies and organizations function. Let’s delve into the surge of video analytics, fueled by the continual drop in prices of high-definition cameras and the surging popularity of video content. This trend empowers businesses to gather and analyze extensive data on customer and employee behavior, preferences, and even mood or sentiment. The resulting insights play a pivotal role in enhancing customer engagement, refining marketing strategies, and boosting sales. Moreover, video analytics serves as a catalyst for internal transformations, improving company policies, operational processes, and overall efficiency.
The Driving Force: High-Quality Video and Security Cameras
A key driver behind the current popularity of video analytics lies in the widespread availability of high-quality video and security cameras. The industry standard has shifted to Full HD, with 4K gaining increasing popularity. The only constraint is the bandwidth required for video signal transmission, but advanced video compression algorithms like H265 have significantly reduced data requirements compared to H264, enabling seamless storage and transmission of high-definition video.
Beyond Storage: Harnessing the Power of Video Data
The thing is, just storing video for the sake of storing it is not enough anymore. The times of checking video by hand to find something interesting in it are gone for good. Video contains tremendous amounts of data and this data can then be analysed to gain valuable insights into customer behaviour, and other areas, as we already have mentioned. 70% of all data existing in the world and traversing the Internet…is video!
As AI algorithms grow ever more powerful by the day, new ways of analysing video are discovered. Among the technologies used already are Speech-to-Text (transcription of spoken word), face recognition, audio fingerprinting and Voice ID (identifying speakers by their tone of voice). Most of these algorithms need some training, as they are usually based on neural networks (which, in turn, require training). The good thing today is that there is an inexhaustible source of information for this training: the Internet. So training models isn’t as long-winded nor difficult as it was just a couple of years before.
Applications of Video Analytics in Business Settings
Video Analytics holds immense potential in diverse business settings. For instance, companies can utilize video data to identify confusing or challenging areas in their physical stores or websites. This information enables continuous improvements to the customer experience, from adding signage to reorganizing store layouts.
Optimizing Marketing Strategies with Video Insights
Analyzing video data allows businesses to pinpoint the most popular products or services within a store or physical space. This valuable information shapes targeted marketing efforts, leading to increased sales and a more efficient allocation of marketing resources.
Security as a Driving Factor
One of the main drivers lately is the use in Security. With the use of sophisticated video analytics software, the user can identify and track individuals, detect suspicious behaviours, and even predict potential threats. This can help to keep citizens, customers or employees (depending on the setting) safe while also reducing the risk of theft or other security breaches.
Monetizing Video Assets and Future Outlook
Some corporations of public entities may not realise it yet, but their growing amount of video recordings from security cameras, marketing and sales material, etc. is a very interesting asset that can be exploited and monetised in several ways (depending on the business line).
Video Analytics is in permanent evolution and the uses change rapidly, but the known ones already make it a “nice-to-have” technology in many cases, but a “must-have” technology in many others, this is the rise of video analytics.