7 Ways IPTV Can Help Your Business Communicate Better

You’d like to make sure that your employees are getting access to video content that they need. Whether that’s news channels, corporate training videos, or the video of last year’s summer BBQ, the more content you have, the more difficult it is to share that content.

And you’ve got other needs, too. Security is at the top of your mind. Cost, efficiency, and infrastructure are all on your list. You’re wondering if IPTV might be the solution.  

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) simply transports television streams over any network. In reality, Enterprise IPTV leverages your existing network infrastructure to distribute TV signals from cable or satellite providers.

IPTV is not limited to live broadcast channels and can also distribute video on-demand, digital signage, and live and on-demand internal productions. Multimedia content is then delivered to display screens throughout your organization — receptions, cafeterias, common rooms, or directly to employees’ computers.

Due to its scalable and flexible nature, an IPTV system can easily fit multiple work environments, whether that be to offer hundreds of television channels or a select few to specific individuals or departments. Many enterprises are now using IPTV at work to inform and engage employees across their organization.

But there is a lot more to IPTV. So here are seven things that you might not have known about what IPTV is, how it works, and how it can help you to better engage with your employees.

1. You can set up a whole video delivery system using just your existing network

If you’re a business with more than several people, you have an IP network in your office. That’s pretty much a given these days.

It used to be that you would have to run an awful lot more cable for TV connections in an office to be able to deliver video around the building, but with IPTV, you’re using what you’ve already got in place. You end up saving a ton of time, a whole bunch of money, and still deliver a great video streaming solution for the whole office.

Suddenly you’re a hero. Your bosses love you. The whole office is grateful to you for getting them the video content they need, at the price they deserve.

The fun part is that it really can be that simple, and that much fun for everyone.

2. You can distribute your content anywhere in the office

When you’re using conventional TV, your options are extremely limited.



Let’s face it, there’s a lot that can go wrong with traditional TV in the office.

You’re basically limited to sending content to televisions. The reality, though, is that people use a lot of different devices to consume content.

When you’re using IPTV, you can get content to set-top boxes around the office, and any desktop or laptop that has the right software to play back the content.

What we should all be mindful of right now is the fact that up to 46% of all video content is watched on a mobile device. Utilizing a simple app and allowing employees to consume content on their phones is a great way to keep them engaged the way you want them to be, and ensures they’re getting the content they need on the device they want to use to watch it.

3. IPTV lets you personalize the content you share with employees

For the most part, IPTV these days is delivered over a device (like a set-top box, for example) that several end users have access to. As Eugen Mikoczy from the Slovak University of Technology writes in this conference paper:

Such a coupling with the user with the device limits the personalization and targeting of the exact user behind the device.

The system does not have a full understanding of the identity of the users, what their expectations are, and what actions they’re most likely to take.

Eugen says that in order to take full advantage of IPTV services, enterprises should be allowing for support for personalized IPTV services, like “content recommendation, personal channels, content bookmarks, user-generated content, etc.”

By enabling personalization, you’re able to use existing architecture to provide fully personalized and interactive IPTV services that can be rolled out across multiple devices, with many users getting an improved quality of experience.

When you enable a personalized experience, your employees are getting exactly the content that they want —and need— and your system is able to provide them with what they need to be more efficient, more productive members of your team.

4. You can distribute content from multiple sources

An IPTV system works best when it allows you to pull content from a variety of different sources. Financial organizations, for example, will use multiple satellite and cable providers, with news coming in from all over the world.

The right IPTV system will allow you to manage and distribute multimedia content from anywhere on the planet to the employees who need it. It’s just that simple.

5. You can finally take control of your video content’s security

No one is going to have to make a case for security when it comes to any corporate entity. In one study, Risk Based Security found that 176 million records were exposed by data infiltration at businesses in Q1 of 2014 alone.

And the threat is not just external. Some research shows that 85% of employees have admitted to taking company documents and information they have created. A whopping 30% have taken data they did not create.

When asked why they did it, 90% of respondents said that there was no policy or technology to prevent them from doing it. In short, employees will steal information and data because they can.

IPTV ensures that your content — whether it’s from broadcast channels or is confidential information — is not copied and distributed without authorization. By using user or group authentication, you ensure that your content is only being seen by the people who should have access to it.

With end-to-end AES encryption, you ensure that your content can’t be copied or distributed, meaning your content stays where it should be: within your organization.

6. You can control your content delivery from one centralized hub

This one is simple. And it’s important.

An IPTV solution allows for a centralized control hub. Your administrators can manage, record, and distribute television channels and video content to any screen across your office from one centralized hub, making it incredibly easy to get the right content out to the right people.

Simple, right? Told ya.

7. Integrating digital signage is incredibly simple with IPTV

IPTV lets you easily integrate digital signage in your workplace for yet another layer of employee engagement. It’s becoming increasingly popular in the workplace, and over at DigitalSignageToday, they’ve got an idea of why that might be.

“A primary driver for the adoption and expansion of digital signage networks in the corporate space is the increasing influence of IT managers and IT integrators on AV purchase decisions. This trend is happening at a time when the AV signal distribution market is making its first significant inroads into replacing conventional matrix switching products with IP-based solutions.”

Want to add another digital signage screen? It’s as easy as adding another Ethernet switch.



Companies want to communicate with their employees in as many ways as possible, and digital signage is a fantastic way of spreading information through your existing network structure. It’s all part of your IPTV solution, so make sure to get the most out of it.

Which IPTV system is right for you?

Everyone’s requirements are a little different. The system you need will depend upon factors like how many employees you want to be able to access content, and from where you want them to be able to access it.

The most important thing is that you understand the power of IPTV and how it can help you get so much more out of your employees.

For more information on corporate IPTV systems, check out the Haivision Media Platform, and see how we can help you get your company’s IPTV system up and running in no time.