The Internet is like the Wild West of the digital world when it comes to protecting intellectual property. Once you digitize a file and send it outside the security of your computer system, you open up your property to rogue players who might steal your ideas and use them for profit. The solution to maintaining control of your intellectual property when sending files is the long available but rarely used Digital Rights Management (DRM).
How to choose the best DRM for your organization?
Implementing the right DRM solution for your company’s internal streaming architecture depends on the following factors
The nature of the video content being streamed
Your copyrighted content needs to be protected from digital threats
The end users who will be viewing/participating in the stream
The browser/device used to stream the content
Should downloads/screenshots be disabled?
The budget you are willing to spend on DRM integration
After clearly listing your requirements based on the above attributes, choosing the right DRM solution provider for your organization may be an easy choice.
Things to consider when choosing DRM
What type of content do you want to protect?
Are you considering protecting training manuals, e-books, proposals, videos, and images? Will your files be in a single format? Are you considering sending PDFs between collaborating colleagues? Are you distributing white papers to prospects in the sales funnel? Are you sending training manuals and videos to your customers?
What level of protection is required?
How much control do you want to have over the files? Are you comfortable with the ability to control only the user’s ability to download, print and copy PDFs? If so, traditional DRM software may meet your needs.
User Experience
Consider how your target audience will experience your DRM solution. Internal employees will not be bothered by a complex system that requires extra steps to use. However, if you are providing access to external parties, then ease of use will be an important factor. Some customers or investors may be hesitant if they have to download another software or application to access your files. In this case, DRM software that runs on a variety of devices and requires zero installation is definitely the ideal choice.
What is your budget?
While this is the last question to address, it is certainly not the least important. The budget you can invest in a DRM solution is very important. Sure, you can look for free solutions online, but are they robust enough to provide the protection you really need for your IP? On the other hand, the upfront cost of an in-house system can run into the thousands of dollars and may require more hardware to handle. You will also tie up your staff in terms of installation and increased training time.
In summary, DRM is an integral part of every streaming architecture, not only for enterprises, but for all other verticals that distribute copyright-protected content.
In addition to protecting sensitive information, it ensures that you have complete control over your organization’s video content in storage and in transit. In addition to managing DRM solutions within your workflow, you can also work with streaming solution providers that have built-in DRM tools and technologies, such as XMediaTV.
XMediaTV helps launch professional DRM-powered streaming platforms by protecting on-demand and live corporate video with encryption, dynamic watermarking, login protection, paywall integration and SSL certificates, keeping sensitive information away from leakage.