Vidyo Embedded in the Cloud – 2Pager

No other vendor in enterprise communications solicits such broad reactions as Vidyo. I think it is one of the most misunderstood companies simply because it's not quite like any other vendor.

Some people see their enterprise solutions and see a Polycom. Others see their patents and assume they are a patent pool like MPEG/LA. Then there's those see their move from software to services and see them as a pivot. Still others see their use of WebRTC technologies and assume they are doomed. None of these pictures are right.

Vidyo is actually a company that's still on its early mission of video-enabling everything. That goal might be considered a BHAG by Collins or an MTP by Diamandis. It's a broad goal, and the "pivots" in portfolio are representative of how technology evolved. For example, cloud really wasn't there when it started in 2005.

The big news this month is Vidyo got it's third CEO. I still occasionally speak with the first and founder CEO Ofer. He's was the technologist, and he's having fun as an angel investor. I just saw CEO #2 Eran a few weeks ago at the Telehealth Summit. He had a likable, yet intimidating way about him. I also briefly met the new CEO (#3), Michael Patsalos-Fox at the Telehealth Summit. He was attending as an interested board member.

The Telehealth Summit was a Vidyo event in Nashville with over 170 customers, partners, and thought leaders discussing Telehealth in person. It is rare to see a enterprise comms vendor so entrenched into a vertical. That brings me back to the opening point about understanding Vidyo. The company is really interested in its customers building video-enabled applications with its technology. The primary solution for this was VidyoWorks. The new approach is vidyo.io.

Vidyo.io is a video-centric CPaaS. Like other CPaaS models the technology is used to enrich other applications.

Vidyo is working to video enable everything - from hardware devices (such as ATMs), websites, and of course mobile apps. If they do it right, the underlying video technology is completely invisible and embedded. This is what most of the Telehealth companies at the summit were doing.

Vidyo is also building traction in areas such as telepsychiatry, large global banks, peer group mentoring, online workplaces, educational apps, and more.

The Reports

The 2Pager is the first 2 pages of the full 8-page report.

The 8-page report headings are:

1 Overview with 5 points.
2 Pay for Vidyo? with 9 points.
3 Background on Scalable Video Coding (SVC) with 12 points
4 Vertical Focus with 8 points
5 Dave's Thoughts with 40 points