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BANGALORE: When it comes to face to face meetings, enterprises do not have much of a choice except, traveling for the meetings. The advent of videoconferencing technology has now presented a real choice to enterprise to reduce the cost and time associated with traveling.
Videoconferencing was one of the key themes of Enterprise Convergence Conference Frost & Sullivan convened in Bangalore at Taj West End Hotel today. It will have eight power-packed sessions to disseminate the value of enterprise convergence.
Market evolution in videoconferencing technology space has been observed. The initial videoconferencing platform was based on proprietary standards which created interoperability challenges connecting disparate video conferencing systems of different vendors. However, with H.320 and H.323 standards and the more recent, H.350, these challenges have been put to rest.
Depending on the usage, nature of deployments and price points, two approaches of Videoconferencing systems are in vogue: Group Systems (integrated systems and portable units) and desktop systems.
In the past one year, there has been a significant increase in adoption in the enterprise market. Some of the other verticals that are likely to acquire traction in India over the next one to two years are the healthcare, education and government segments, as prices for hardware and bandwidth reduces and awareness about the technology is spread in the market.
Videoconferencing market to grow 24.9 percent
"The videoconferencing equipment market size was estimated to be at US $10.8 million in 2004 and is likely to grow and a CAGR of 24.9 percent till 2011. Given the low level of penetration at the current stage, Frost & Sullivan anticipates a growth explosion (30 percent+ growth rates for the next two years) in the medium term beyond which the market growth rates will stabilize to a growth rate of 22 percent. Increase in the availability of broadband networks at cheaper rates will also fuel the growth", says Alok Shende, director, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan.
The Asia Pacific videoconferencing equipment market for the endpoints was worth US $179.9 million in 2003. The market is likely to grow at a CAGR of 18.7 percent from 2003 to 2010. The interesting part is that China, Japan and Australia accounted for 76.1 percent of the total Asia Pacific revenues, and the move toward collaborative solutions is beginning to take shape quite quickly at the Asia-Pacific level.
"Videoconferencing solutions should help to build the digit divides in verticals like telemedicine and education, which are very critical for a country like India. This technology should not only help the enterprises, but also the masses. With tremendous growth happening in broadband technology, we feel this will directly help in growth of videoconferencin", says Yugal Sharma, country manager, Polycom.
Videoconferencing has several advantages- The biggest advantage is that the cost and time associated with traveling is reduced. The second advantage is the fact that visual connection and interaction among participants enhances understanding and it helps in building relationships in a way that other means of communication cannot build. The third is the ability to increase connection with the outside world-videoconferencing makes a face-to-face visit possible and this can be more frequent thus saving time and resources.
These types of conferences may be limited to a closed network or may use public networks such as regular phone lines. At present, most of the enterprises connect via ISDN. However, internet based connections are increasing in popularity and many public rooms have come up in India which allow these conferencing over IP network.
Factors like cost of ownership, maintenance of infrastructure, and the fact that it is still considered as an item of luxury acts as restraints for the development of this market. IP-based video may cause audio clippings or delays that results in jerky video or slow networks and due to this noise and movement sensitivity, controlling the conference becomes much more critical.
The potential of videoconferencing is huge in India. Multinational companies and large enterprises have recognized this. Now, it is the turn of medium-sized enterprises to understand the advantages of videoconferencing embrace this means of communication and expand their businesses.
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