When it comes to business video, it turns out that there are multiple ways to skin an iPad.

At least that seems to be the case when looking at some approaches to delivering video to tablet devices from vendors targeting corporate use of online video communications.

The latest companies to tackle the mobile video arena are two firms best known as providers of Web-based event services – TalkPoint and NetBriefings. While each company has a long track record in providing turnkey support for distributing corporate video events online, the two firms are embracing two very different approaches for leveraging video in the mobile environment.

The New York-based TalkPoint is emphasizing simplicity in accessing Web events via tablet devices. In the past month, the company has begun talking more extensively about its implementation of mobile extensions for its long-time strategy of providing a “universal link” for accessing a webcast event that could be used by anybody using any type of equipment to see a Web video presentation.

Through one event URL, the TalkPoint technology is able to automatically recognize the viewer’s device of choice and supply them with the appropriate viewing format. A singular event link simplifies the promotion and distribution of the event. Without the single event link, corporate planners seeking to reach a broader audience via mobile devices as well as PCs can suffer from a proliferation of links for users to tap into an event.

To say the least, these traditional multilink smorgasbords all heading to the same webcast event foster confusion for end users and limit marketers’ ability to promote the event in a sensible way.

With the universal link offered by TalkPoint, the process of selecting the proper stream to serve to the end user is pushed deep into the bowels of the software solution. The company has done this for years in distributing webcasts to multiple types of computers supporting a range of video formats. With the emergence of tablets, TalkPoint now is extending its universal link capability to a new array of devices.

Expanding universal link capabilities to a broader range of devices has helped boost the viewership for webcasts developed and distributed via TalkPoint, said company Chief Executive Officer Nick Balletta. He reports that consumption of video events on mobile devices increased 74% in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with mobile viewership totals logged in the first quarter of the year. For Balletta, who admits he was skeptical last year when his development team first suggested the idea of a universal link for mobile devices, now is becoming a big believer in video consumption via the tablet.

“I personally wasn’t a big believer in the iPad,” Balletta says now. “Thank God they didn’t listen to me.”

While TalkPoint works on making it easier to distribute videos to mobile devices, NetBriefings of St. Paul, Minn. is looking to leverage its existing software solutions to simplify the use of tablet devices in creating video.

NetBriefings already has developed a version of its hosted Proclaim video capture solution for the iPhone and is currently waiting for Apple’s (News - Alert) formal iTunes blessing for a version of Proclaim tuned specifically to work on the iPad.

The idea behind NetBriefings’ Proclaim is to simplify the process of creating video e-mails and blog postings that can be readily tracked in ways that helps senders determine how and when tailored video messages are received by their targeted audience.

With the i-applications for Proclaim, NetBriefings is creating a robust new venue for capturing video that can then be processed and managed by the same back-end solutions that are used to manage Webcam messages produced via Proclaim at the employee desktop.

By offering Proclaim capability via the iPhone (News - Alert) and iPad, NetBriefings sets the stage for simplifying the collection and distribution of video content from remote locations. Rather than handling video snippets from talking heads staring into Webcams, the Proclaim iteration for mobile devices allows users to capture video on the go, record overlay audio of what they are seeing and then distribute the content rapidly to targeted audiences.

The prospective applications are limited only by one’s imagination. Think of sales people on the road, for instance, collecting video feedback from customers and prospects and then sending those videos directly to the product development team. Alternatively, consider the case of a real estate home inspector who could use a mobile device to film defects of a home being inspected and coupling that video with verbal descriptions of the problems that must be addressed in the repair process. That video could be sent instantly to relevant parties, allowing would-be home buyers to immediately see and hear about issues involving a home they are considering for purchase.  

These applications from NetBriefings and TalkPoint certainly will not be the last innovations resulting from the rise of video in the mobile environment. But they do provide a tantalizing taste of what is yet to come.