In their early stages, new ideas are always met with skepticism. It’s the same with new technologies, which are the physical manifestations of new ideas. Except for the inventor and usually a handful of followers, new technologies are usually seen as novelties for a period of time — cool, but not really an essential part of daily life.

The telephone was such an invention, as was the television, and, more recently, the internet. Now, we have online video (which by the way always includes “audio,” so let’s call it “online AV”), which will soon be as ubiquitous as the telephone. Already, nearly 11 billion video streams are watched by 140 million unique viewers each month, according to Nielsen’s VideoCensus reports. Analyst firm Interactive Media Strategies finds that twothirds of organizations responding to a recent survey have deployed online AV, although less than 20 percent of them are using it on a weekly basis. A survey conducted last year by IDC found that the vast majority (almost 90 percent) of large organizations were already using video (including videoconferencing).

Is online AV a novelty or a business necessity? The adoption of collaboration tools like telepresence and SharePoint has proven the value of new Web 2.0 technologies in the enterprise. But a few hurdles remain in the path of mainstream acceptance of online AV.

The biggest hurdle is what’s been called “the democratizing of multimedia,” best exemplified by YouTube. YouTube is the clear giant in the field, with over 6 billion streams in just the month of October this year, according to Nielsen. That’s a factor of 10 greater than Hulu, its nearest competitor. But say “YouTube” to a corporate executive or university president, and they’l think “waste of time.” Mention it to a network administrator and the reaction is likely to be violent. In many executive suites, online AV still has the feel of a frivolous novelty.

Yet, a 2008 report from IDC found that the typical employee watched 5.2 hours of enterprise video per month; survey respondents expected this to grow 31 percent to 6.8 hours per month by the end of 2009. So it’s catching on, but the question remains: What are they watching? The same report cites videoconferencing as the leading use case for enterprise video, followed closely by employee training/certification. Other important use cases include video surveillance, the use of video for sales meetings/training, record/playback of meetings/ videoconferences, and executive communications to employees. This is not YouTube for the enterprise.

In this era of disappearing budgets, it’s easy to understand a reluctance to invest in any new technology. But the ROI of online AV (especially if you consider videoconferencing and telepresence) is hard to dispute. Online AV offers a method of communication that’s less expensive and more effective. With the proper tools, training, and, yes, some controls, it should be considered no more frivolous than using the telephone.