Enterprise telepresence market to hit $5bn in 2015

BOSTON, USA: Annual enterprise video conferencing and telepresence system revenue grew 18 percent in 2010 to $2.2 billion worldwide. Infonetics Research expects the enterprise video conferencing and telepresence market to more than double between by 2015, when it will hit $5.0 billion.

Also Read: Video conferencing: Polycom

Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networks and video at Infonetics Research, said: "Communicating via video continues to be one of the top trends in telecom, as evidenced by strong growth in the enterprise video market. Businesses worldwide are looking for richer means of communications with their employees, partners, and customers, and enterprise videoconferencing and telepresence solutions are a natural fit."

Due to their versatility, multi-purpose room systems account for the majority of enterprise video conferencing equipment. Immersive telepresence systems are expected to have the highest growth rates of all video conferencing equipment, finds the analyst firm.

"The biggest winners in the enterprise communications market will be those who offer solutions that are multi-modal, visual (e.g., video-based), and support the collaboration requirements of globally distributed organizations," he added.

Thanks to their low cost and availability on PBXs, software-based endpoints out-ship hardware by 10:1. The acquisition of Tandberg propelled Cisco to the #1 spot in the overall enterprise video conferencing market, with 50 percent of revenue in 2010, whereas, Polycom maintains its solid second position for revenue, and leads for units shipped.