Do you remember when online video first began to take off? In its infancy, it was very simplistic and mostly consisted of marketing promotions. If you fast-forward to today, online video is a completely different story. Now, it is of very high value that is comparable to the quality of TV and movie content.

While it’s exciting to see how technology has advanced and improved the online video experience, the changes have also brought many complexities. According to Jeff Whatcott, the Chief Marketing Officer at Brightcove, online video needs to be delivered in HD, it needs to be monetized through either paid models or better forms of advertising, and it needs to be protected.

As a result, the game has changed drastically for media companies and all other publishers of content. They have to consider all the elements that Whatcott mentioned in addition to the challenge of delivering their content across multiple devices and in multiple formats.

“Having all those different screens that you need to deliver content to creates incredible technical complexity for these organizations,” said Whatcott.

These companies then must tackle the decision of whether to build an internal infrastructure to handle these processes or to outsource them to services such as Brightcove. Although an internal system allows for more control, the downside is the time and resources involved in developing it. Outsourcing, on the other hand, is often preferred since organizations can jump right into their efforts.

“Rather than starting from just a blank sheet of paper and a long list of questions, they start with a code that’s actually already been written [and] that already integrates in with the right systems and the right ways,” said Whatcott.

Going forward into the next wave of online video, Whatcott believes even more changes will take place. As he explained to us, fragmentation will increase as many more devices are introduced. Apple is reportedly scheduled to announce a new Apple TV platform later this year. If the trend continues as it did with the iPhone and iPad, such an announcement could produce a completely new way of thinking, which could drastically change the user experience and future technologies.

Whatcott also believes we will begin to see more content coming online that is licensable and accessible even for those consumers who do not have a cable subscription.

“There’s a whole new generation coming up with having never had a cable bill… or not preferring to consume their content through cable, and we see more and more companies wanting to service the desire of that class of people,” he explained.

Although not directly related to video, Whatcott went on to say that apps would continue to play a big role going forward. Although there are questions about their sustainability, he said apps are here to stay.

Despite the challenges that these developing areas will bring, many opportunities exist as well. Whatcott points out that organizations will not only be able to build upon their existing technologies, but they will also be able to develop new concepts.

In other news regarding Brightcove, the company has had a very successful year after going public in February. In its first quarter earnings, the company reported $19.9 million in revenue. Whatcott told us that the company is “very excited” about its progress and that it would continue to focus on building its business.

Whatcott also offered this advice to Facebook in light its recent IPO: “Everything around the IPO and funding, although there’s a lot of excitement around this, it really doesn’t change your relationship with customers – you just need to execute well.”