Investors are (fortunately!) still enamoured with video related startups. See the recent post on Silicon Alley Insider.  A lot of VC money has been invested in video companies looking to take advantage of video over the internet. Some companies, like the obvious YouTube’s of the world, have hit it big in the consumer space. While they are still searching for the perfect way to monetize their market presence and turn their traffic and eyeballs into revenue, it is safe to say that their investors are pretty happy with their likely returns.

On the business to business front, there has also been a fair amount of investment in video startups.  Companies like 3VR, Covi Technologies, IQVideo and others have all raised a bunch of money.  Like YouTube, many of these companies are still trying to figure out the right revenue model and in some cases are trying to create a market where there hasn’t been one before.

One of the advantages that MVaaS companies have in this regard is that companies are already buying video systems today.  While they might only be thinking about the security portion of the value proposition when they start, there are a lot of companies that recognize the need and have set aside the capital to make the investment.  MVaaS presents a better answer to both the problems that they know they are trying to solve and to the problems that they are just coming to realize they can solve.  The challenge for MVaaS companies is not to create a new market per se, it is more to educate the market on the enhanced value that can be delivered and to get involved in as many customer conversations as possible