How Video APIs Helped Businesses Quickly Adapt During the Pandemic

Let's take a look at how four companies in different industries overcame their communications challenges and capitalized on remote working trends with the help of video APIs (application programming interfaces).

StoryCorps: A Major Shift, Powered by Video API

The nonprofit StoryCorps is dedicated to preserving people's personal stories—stories that are known to be remarkably moving and compelling.

Before the pandemic, StoryCorps' primary means of capturing stories was a much more in-person affair: a collection of interactive booth locations and a mobile booth that gave the nonprofit added geographical reach. These methods naturally needed to change—and quickly—when the pandemic hit.

StoryCorps' mandate to make that change got a lot easier when they discovered Vonage's Video API. Suddenly, the restrictions imposed by social distancing and other community health measures weren't so daunting. They could use the tools at their disposal to build a natural extension of their mission.

At a high level, the benefits that Vonage tools provide come down to two main points:

• Geographical flexibility: storytellers, interviewers, and other invested parties could hold an intimate conversation in a virtual space

• Technological adaptability: the Vonage API integrated with StoryCorps' existing workflows; there was little time to make this change, after all, and full backend restructuring wasn't feasible 

With Vonage's Video API, StoryCorps was ultimately able to pivot in a very short time. The solution, dubbed StoryCorps Connect, went from concept to production in a matter of weeks and instantly gave the organization a powerful virtual tool to continue their mission—even when the pandemic temporarily diverted their plans.

Doxy.me: Video Powers the Telehealth Revolution

In March 2020, COVID-19 presented Doxy.me with one of the telehealth provider's greatest challenges: managing a massive spike in customers as distance-conscious patients looked for new ways to seek care. As a result of this spike, the company had to manage:

• 139,000 new users

• 170 million minutes of teleconsultation

• a 700% increase in week-over-week calls

In just 31 days, Doxy.me leveraged Vonage's Video API and its cloud-based scalability and flexibility to handle the unexpected surge in video communications traffic. And the video solution created a ripple effect of additional benefits.

Doctors providing virtual consults don't need personal protective equipment, thus freeing it up for field-based medical professionals who do require it. Secondly, they're less likely to contract illnesses from their patients, keeping the overburdened medical workforce more active. And lastly, they're able to help patients who may otherwise lack access to traditional in-person healthcare resources.

Hopin: Supported Exponential Growth

Healthcare wasn't the only industry to see massive change as a result of the pandemic. When Hopin, a virtual event platform founded in 2019, saw exponential growth and customer interest following COVID-19's emergence, they turned to a Video API to power their evolution.

According to the company's founder and CEO, Hopin's "TV show" like all-hands meeting turns a dreaded aspect of company management into something fun, enjoyable, and highly anticipated.

Because video is a core part of Hopin's offering, the video API powers both their internal and customer-facing interactions. Teams across the globe communicate as though they all shared the same physical workspace. Customers, meanwhile, enjoy the same tools as they power Hopin's suite of media-focused meeting and collaboration solutions. It's a win-win for a company that strongly relies on APIs as part of its core customer promise.

In the end, video is a key aspect of the modern workplace. That's true across many industries and businesses, where employees, clients, partners, and other stakeholders need to meet—wherever they are—in a space that mirrors the real world as closely as possible.