Video Conferencing to grow in India

What major challenges has Polycom encountered in India and SAARC since its inception?

When we set up in June 2003, the concept of video conferencing in India was relatively new compared to the west. We had to educate the masses on the benefits of the technology and the value it provided. Also, the adoption was limited to large corporate houses that were accustomed to technology in a large way.

The industry today is gradually moving from group systems to desktop video conferencing systems. Apart from large enterprises, lots of small and medium businesses are adapting video conferencing solutions. We are also witnessing the shift of the industry from video conferencing through PC to televisions. Customers today prefer television to a PC screen due to clarity of voice and video through a single device. 

Enterprises today are looking forward to leading edge technology, flexible conferences, flexible deployment, common management suites, highly scalable solutions, secure VoIP conferencing, embedded multipoint options and more in video conferencing solutions. All this has benefited the growth and acceptance of video conferencing as a critical technology.

What next can be added to today's video conferencing solutions?

We believe that convergence of networks will be the buzzword of tomorrow. Polycom is focusing huge efforts on driving the growth for collaboration technologies. A truly converged conference can seamlessly connect voice and video participants into a conference having a common set of conference features and end user interfaces to make it a productive conferencing solution. Also, features with video interfaces must be supported by video endpoints in a video or converged conference, to create a truly unified conferencing experience. Collaborative technologies will enable business partners to easily switch back and forth from web, video and audio conferencing to see and hear each other and to share documents and information in real time.

What would you pick as Polycom’s best case study in India so far?

My list of favorites starts with NIC that has used our bridging capabilities for 90 per cent of its initiative in connecting 610 districts. Reliance, BSNL, TCS, Infosys, Satyam, SBI, PNB, Shopper’s Stop, L&T and Mahindra are prominent in the enterprise adopter league. Among the SMEs, Havell’s is a notable example and I am also excited the way a sugar mill in UP, that is a recent client win, is using our solutions to tap technology for business. Sakal and Eenadu are also wonderful examples of adoption of conferencing deployment in publishing business, specially because even the big boys in this sector haven’t tried it yet on that scale.

Can you share some recent client wins?

We have bagged a prestigious order from SAIL and POSCO as well as two more steel plants in Orissa and Jharkhand. We are also entering retail vertical in a big way soon.

How has Polycom received the transition from ISDN to IP in India?

When we started in India, we were lucky that ISDN then was not only available but reliable and getting affordable. This was one of the main drivers for Polycom to step in India. ISDN has clearly shown us the growth phase but now broadband will clearly drive the expansion phase. I think the transition will be in full flavour next year.

What is the scenario in terms of relative mix of group equipment and desktop?

Right now, predominantly conferencing happens only on group conferencing system and desktop video conferencing is very less as it takes effort to move into the mass market. But in times to come the desktop video market should grow.

Is Polycom’s vertical focus and applications undergoing any change?

While IT and telecom corner 40 per cent of the market, we need to expand in the bottom half of the balance 60 per cent. The Prosumers segment that consists of SOHO, SMEs is very attractive and we would be launching some products to take care of the affordability factor for the bottom 60 per cent. The government SWAN (State Wide Area Network) will see a major leap once the basic fibre is in place. Judiciary would also be an interesting area to watch for. Think of the benefits of faster case resolutions, corrective reforms, security issues, etc. when around 17 jails of Maharashtra leverage videoconferencing for case hearings instead of physical presence of the accused. IG presence can allow tremendous savings per month for every jail. Besides, India is a very unique country with strong cultural bindings and a festival every day. India has one of the largest migrating populations worldwide. In the present times, when work and education has increased distances within families, videoconferencing opens 60 per cent of the market. Of course, interviews, meetings at the corporate level are ripe business applications.

Can you elaborate on IG presence and judicial vertical?

Polycom has alliances with various judiciaries across the country. Polycom has deployed video conferencing solutions across Andhra Pradesh and few other states in India. Andhra jails for the successful implementation of video conferencing, Andhra Pradesh’s Department of Prisons and Correctional Services (AP Prisons Department) oversees seven central prisons, nine district jails, two women’s prisons, one vocational training centre for juvenile convicts and 120 sub-jails for inmates serving less than one month or awaiting pretrial. On the other hand, Mumbai jails has benefited immensely from the deployment, as previously they required 750 men and 45 vehicles that were subsequently declared redundant, saving both money and time.

The availability of broadband networks, acceleration of economic growth, decreasing cost of technology and to add to that resource and security challenges faced by the judicial vertical has fueled the adoption of video conferencing in this vertical.

How significant has the growth been on government business?

In the last four to six quarters we have seen a major shift and government accounts for almost half of our business. This is a very good sign as this sector cuts across the length and breadth of the country, for instance- Even in some remote place in Indian hinterland, you can always find a small police chowki or post office or a government bank outfit. Herein, e-governance, distance learning, telemedicine and judicial sub-verticals are promising areas.

Would you be tweaking your channel strategy too?

Till six quarters back we were working on the reseller model and we have since then shifted to our worldwide standard of distributor model.

Would web conferencing be a serious competitive threat?

Not really. Web conferencing companies are not competitors for us. In a way they help us expand the market.

What will define competitive success in this industry - pricing, channel or products?

Competition is always healthy in a competitive market. The study conducted by market research firm, Frost & Sullivan reiterates our leadership in the video conferencing domain with a market share of 60.9 per cent. Our technology has been well received and a healthy mix of channel, product availability and pricing strategy defines a leader. Information about the particular product to channel partners, product training and web-based tools have been our attention areas. India is a price sensitive market. But the CIO/ CTO or CFO community understands and is willing to invest in Video Conference technology. As a boon to the industry off late the duties have come down which has helped in reduction of prices, the availability of bandwidth has gone up and cost of bandwidth has come down. All this has made the over all solution price level to come down. This has further strengthened our presence in the market.

So, Polycom seems to be at an inflexion point in India?

We have just closed 13 quarters. We have seen the growth phase, January 2007 onwards, the buzzword will be expansion. Since our inception, we have grown five times and with 40-50 per cent growth this year that would stay the thumb rule. From teams, channels to market penetration, we are poised for expansion.