Cloud, On-Premises, or Hybrid Streaming Servers: Which Video Deployment Model Is Right for You? (Update)

You wouldn’t buy your next car without first asking yourself what you need, what you’d like, and what you can afford. You’d also likely ask yourself what you’re hoping to accomplish with a car long-term. Might you need to drive it every day at some point? Will you be needing room for kids down the line?

Why wouldn’t you do the same when looking to start streaming?

Whether you are new to video streaming or trying to revamp your streaming infrastructure, it’s time to take stock of your needs and find out what video deployment model best suits them.

Is A Hybrid Video Deployment Model Right For You?

The first time we wrote this article, we focused on on-premises and cloud-based video deployment models. Certainly, choosing one or the other could be your best path forward. However, we’ve since begun exploring hybrid video deployment, combining the benefits of on-premises and cloud-based streaming to meet more nuanced needs.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the questions you should ask, why they are important, and how your answers to them will help inform which of these options is the one for you. First, here is a quick summary of the options in front of you with their corresponding benefits and drawbacks.

Choosing a Video Deployment Model

These questions will help you identify your goals and what video deployment strategy helps you accomplish them. You might not know the answers to all these questions. If you’d rather speak with a streaming expert that can help you better analyze your needs, reach out to a member of our team.

Do You Prefer to Keep Your Video Streaming Infrastructure in House?

Do you want to own and have manual control over the servers that transcode and stream your video data? And do you want to have full control over every aspect of your workflow?

We often see this as the preferred choice for enterprises, government, or surveillance organizations. This strategy is typically seen when groups are deploying video across a large private network or setting up offline and air-gapped workflows for additional security. In many of these cases, these groups want that granular level of control and to be able to store and manage data in a more secure setting.

But because an on-premises video streaming server model gives you full control over your workflow, you’ll also be responsible for managing every level of your technology stack. Cloud deployments, on the other hand, allow you to offload some management duties and maintenance costs to the service provider. You can also tap into cloud processing and distribution resources for scalability and reach. Owning servers can be expensive too, as you need to maintain and run them yourself. This makes scaling to larger audiences difficult unless you have an integrated content delivery network (CDN), or have invested in access to a third-party CDN.

Ask yourself WHY you want to keep the infrastructure in-house, and if doing so will inhibit your long-term video streaming plans. Also, remember that many cloud-based video platforms come with robust security controls like digital rights management (DRM), token authorization, geofencing, IP whitelisting, and steam-level encryption. For that reason, cloud-based deployment is still a highly secure option, especially when powered by a SOC 2-compliant provider like Wowza.

Are You Able to Integrate Multiple Vendors to Satisfy Your Video Streaming Needs?

Let’s say you really want to keep many aspects of your workflow in-house. An on-premises video streaming server like Wowza Streaming Engine is highly customizable, offering you a great deal of technical control.

However, staying on-prem might mean finding vendors to help with various stages in your workflow, from video encoding and DRM through CDN-enabled delivery. A hybrid streaming solution like Wowza Streaming Engine should be able to integrate your on-prem workflows with these additional vendors’ service offerings

It’s possible you don’t need all that. If you do, you’ll need to locate vendors on your own to satisfy those needs. This is one case where you don’t want to just think about the immediate demand, but also explore your long-term needs.

This is also one place where the benefits of hybrid really shine. Wowza’s hybrid cloud offering combines the control and flexibility of on-premises Wowza Streaming Engine media server with cloud CDN access, video analytics, and more.

Is Scalability a Concern?

Scalability refers to your streaming infrastructure’s ability to handle larger audiences or multiple events simultaneously, often across greater distances. Many factors affect scalability, from high-density transcoding to adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR). However, CDNs are likely the most impactful when it comes to handling large audiences. These server networks make it easier to process and deliver data to a larger viewership.

If you feel that an on-premises video streaming server solution fits your needs, then you’re likely in good shape. That said, you never know what the future holds. If expanding your audience or accommodating multiple sources at once is part of your long-term plan, you should design your workflow with that in mind so you can seamlessly scale later.

After all, audience growth challenges are not the sole responsibility of your marketing team. You need to have the technology in place to capture audience surges when they happen. An ill-prepared workflow leads to poor stream quality, dropped streams, and unhappy viewers.

Do You Prefer a Solution That Gets Up and Running Quickly?

Who doesn’t prefer a solution that gets up and running quickly? The real question is do you NEED one that will hit the ground running or is it just nice to have?

A managed SaaS offering typically provides an easy-to-start and easy-to-scale out-of-the-box solution. However, this often comes at the cost of control and flexibility. That said, a developer-friendly media streaming server like Wowza Streaming Engine offers a degree of control and builder-friendly customization beyond that found in SaaS. So it really comes down to cost versus reward. How important is speed to you, and what is it worth sacrificing?

Hybrid streaming workflows still require configuring the Wowza Streaming Engine software. So, if you are looking for a truly immediate solution, and are willing to exchange that speed for flexibility, then you really only have one choice.

Would You Benefit from Holistic Visibility Across the Entire Workflow?

A versatile on-premises, hybrid, and cloud-friendly platform like Wowza Streaming Engine can also provide a full end-to-end picture through robust stream analytics. This is one benefit of having everything packaged together. Those using Wowza Streaming Engine, or a similar media server software, can also achieve this visibility through a solution that’s been custom-built from disparate parts or vendors. This might make achieving an overall view more difficult, but a truly extensible and developer-friendly media server should enable these analytics integrations without issue.

This is one place where hybrid really shines. While not as simple to deploy as a managed SaaS offering with out-of-the-box analytics, it can give you greater access to more detailed or granular streaming analytics. It’s a solid option for those who want insights alongside greater control.

Is On-Premises Video Streaming or Offline Video Deployment Critical to Your Workflow?

A company may want training videos to be accessible only through an intranet or closed-circuit video surveillance systems. If you need something like this, you likely want an on-premises video streaming server. If your use case requires public discoverability and the potential for audience growth, this may not be as critical a requirement.

But what if you want a little of both? What if you are looking to host closed conferences over the cloud? This is where a hybrid deployment model provides the “best of both worlds” for secure video streaming at scale.

Video Deployment Models: A Recap

Wowza’s suite of solutions covers every need that could arise from low-latency interactive streaming to multi-camera feed video surveillance systems. Our customer use cases include healthcare, law enforcement, sports streaming, remote operations, eCommerce, manufacturing, higher education, and so much more. No matter your video requirements, Wowza has got you covered.

• Reliable On-Premises Video Streaming Server Software: Wowza Streaming Engine comes with robust and fully customizable features that make it optimal for self-managed infrastructures and offline deployments.
• Highly-Extensible Hybrid Streaming Solution: Wowza’s developer-friendly hybrid streaming server combines the builder-friendly customization and secure Wowza Streaming Engine media server software with access to cloud CDN integrations, analytics tools, and best-in-class media players.

Expert Advice for Expert Solutions

Treat this guide like a checklist. Brainstorm your needs. Then reach out for expert advice to address any confusion you have. We will gladly help guide you to a video deployment model that will help you achieve your goals.

Start by talking with one of our video streaming experts!

Frequently Asked Questions