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Microsoft 365 for Beginners – What is Microsoft Viva – Part 9
The Microsoft Stream solution is a video-sharing platform gaining popularity among businesses for creating and sharing video content. This Microsoft Stream for beginners guide will explore Microsoft Stream features and benefits as well as its integration with other Office 365 tools.
What is Microsoft Stream?
Let’s first start with understanding what Microsoft Stream is exactly. Stream is a secure, enterprise-grade video-sharing and management platform designed to enhance organization collaboration and communication.
Stream (on SharePoint) is an app that is part of the M365 suite enabling businesses to work with video sharing, uploading, and collaborating. It also provides strong integration with other Microsoft 365 apps, such as SharePoint and Microsoft Teams.
The new Stream, which is integrated with SharePoint, utilizes the same storage infrastructure as other content types. This means videos are stored alongside documents, presentations, and spreadsheets in SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive.
Stream provides a consistent user experience for sharing, searching, and commenting, just like other Microsoft 365 apps. To achieve this, significant investments have been made to enhance the video playback experience directly within the SharePoint platform, ensuring swift video startup and reliable playback without the need for a dedicated video service.
Getting Started with Microsoft Stream
To start using Microsoft Stream, log in to your Microsoft 365 account. You can then navigate to the All apps screen to find the Stream app. If you don’t have access to Microsoft 365, you can sign up for a trial of Microsoft 365, which includes access to Microsoft Stream and other essential apps.
You can then easily begin uploading new content.
Stream’s Key Features
- Uploading and Sharing Videos – One of the robust features of the Stream platform is the ability it provides users to share videos easily. Users simply click on the create button at the top of the page and then upload their video. Users can also create channels to help organize video content and share these with specific individuals, groups, or even everyone in the organization.
- Live Events – Another neat feature of the Stream Classic platform is the ability to host live events using the platform. It allows broadcasting streaming video to a large audience in real-time. This feature is handy for presentations, webinars, or even company meetings. Creating live events is easy by using the create button and choosing the Live Event option from the dropdown. However, as of September 15, 2023, the Stream Classic Live Events option will be retired. The Microsoft Teams live events will be the replacement service for the Streams Classic Live Events option.
- Integration with Microsoft 365 Tools – Microsoft Stream seamlessly integrates with other Office 365 tools like SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Office applications. This integration enables users to easily share videos within these platforms, streamlining collaboration and communication among colleagues.
- Video Management and Security – Microsoft Stream offers robust video management features, ensuring that your content remains secure and accessible only to authorized users. You can manage access to your videos by specifying individual users, groups, or organizations and enabling security features such as encryption and single sign-on.
What is Microsoft Stream Classic?
Microsoft Stream Classic, once the go-to enterprise video service for Microsoft 365, is now being superseded by the improved Stream (on SharePoint) platform.
Microsoft is strongly encouraging organizations to utilize the upgraded Stream (on SharePoint) for a better experience. For current users of Stream Classic, it’s essential to transfer your videos to SharePoint and OneDrive before the retirement of Stream Classic takes place, which is set for February 2024.
Microsoft Stream Classic, the predecessor to Stream’s current version, still offers valuable features for businesses and organizations. Some key aspects of Stream Classic include:
- Channels and Groups – In Stream Classic, channels, and groups are used to organize and share videos. Channels are collections of videos based on specific themes or topics, while groups enable collaboration and sharing among team members.
- Video Comments and Engagement – Stream Classic supports video comments, allowing users to engage in discussions and provide feedback on video content. This feature helps foster a collaborative environment and encourages users to share their thoughts and ideas.
- Microsoft 365 Integration – Like the current version of Microsoft Stream, Stream Classic also integrates with Office 365 tools, offering seamless access and sharing of videos within SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and other Office applications.
- Live events – With Streams Classic, organizations can host live events. As a note, this feature is being retired September 15, 2023. Instead, organizations will use Microsoft Teams live events after this date.
How to migrate from YouTube to Stream
The process is straightforward to migrate from YouTube to Stream. You simply download the video files from YouTube and then upload them to Microsoft Stream using the “Upload video” feature. This migration lets you use Microsoft Stream’s security, integration, and video management capabilities.
Microsoft Stream (on SharePoint) FAQs
- Is there still a Stream application?
- Where will video files be stored?
- What if I want a single video portal?
- What is happening with Stream live events?
Yes! Although videos are now stored as regular files in SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, and Yammer, Stream remains an integral part of the suite. Stream is the application and experience that enables you to record, upload, discover, share, manage, and play video content stored in Microsoft 365. Learn more about the capabilities of videos in Microsoft 365.
With Stream (on SharePoint), videos will be stored alongside your Office files in Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Yammer. Stream enhances these videos by powering the playback and adding intelligent video experiences on top.
First, analyze the Stream (Classic) data to understand how users utilize a single video portal.
Second, determine which content should be accessible organization-wide and feature that video content on your existing intranet, SharePoint sites, teams, and communities. For all other content, encourage users to upload videos to their teams and existing sites.
Finally, if you still require a video portal, create one using a single site or a collection of sites in SharePoint.
Stream live events are being replaced by Teams live events. In addition, the Stream Classic live events will be deprecated in September 2023.
Wrapping up
As we have covered, Microsoft Stream offers many great features and capabilities for businesses looking to create and share videos and collaborate using the video platform. In addition, companies can use Microsoft Stream’s tools and integration with Office 365 to improve communication, boost productivity, and create a more engaging and collaborative work environment.
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