Flash played an essential role in making the internet a more immersive, exciting environment. Soon, though, educators will need to make a transition away from Flash content to HTML5 videos. Planning the transition now will make it easier for you to include compelling video content on your institution’s website.

Adobe Plans to End Support for Flash

Flash players have giving university and colleges easy ways to share video content since the mid-1990s. Flash became even more useful when Adobe Systems acquired the technology in 2005. With Flash, practically anyone could make a compelling video for college recruiting, admissions, classroom materials, and other needs. Over the last few years, Flash has started to show its age. Instead of trying to create a new player, Adobe has decided to eliminate Flash support by the end of 2020. When Adobe stops its support, Adobe will disappear from popular web browsers and websites. Any Flash video content that your school uses could become inaccessible within a few years.

Your Flash Content Will Become Outdated Soon

The rise of HTML5 gives Adobe plenty of good reasons to stop supporting Flash. None of the iOS devices, including all versions of the iPhone, support Flash. That means 700 million iPhone users cannot view Flash videos on college websites. Google has also expressed a preference for HTML5 over Flash. Google’s Chrome browser hasn’t used Flash as its default player since December 2016. Now that two of the biggest technology companies have turned to HTML5, colleges and universities should do the same.

Flash Has More Security Risks Than HTML5

Universities maintain a lot of private information about their students. By hacking into a university’s server, someone could access critical data like:

1. Social security numbers

2. Phone numbers

3. Addresses

4. Birth dates

These pieces of information make it easy for criminals to commit fraud and identity theft. Unfortunately, colleges that use Flash may give hackers an open door to their servers. In 2015, eight of the top 10 security vulnerabilities used Flash to infiltrate networks. None of the attacks counted on vulnerabilities within HTML5. Adobe deserves some blame for Flash’s security flaws. The company rarely forces users to upgrade to the latest version of the player. Since people use outdated versions, hackers can continue to exploit vulnerabilities that security experts have known about for years.

Flash to HTML5 Conversion Will Cost More in the Future

At the moment, few companies feel rushed to convert their Flash videos to HTML5 video. With three years left before Adobe ends its support, companies feel like they have plenty of time to plan their Flash to HTML5 conversion projects. This situation will change within the next year or two. Eventually, millions of websites will need to update their Flash videos. Colleges and universities can upgrade their Flash videos to HTML5 affordably in 2017. As demand begins to increase, though, conversion experts will have an opportunity to raise prices. The longer you wait, the more it will cost to convert your content.

Convert Your Flash Animation Now to Stay Relevant

Institutions that postpone converting their Flash content to HTML5 will face difficulties in the software’s final year. Millions of people cannot view Flash content on their iOS devices; more companies have stopped supporting Flash; and Flash creates serious security vulnerabilities. Given these factors, it makes sense for colleges and universities to convert Flash content to HTML5 as soon as possible.