Video conferencing to hit $1bn in 2016: Ovum

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: Businesses are increasingly adopting enterprise-grade telepresence. The market will boom, with spending hitting $1.1bn in 2016, growing with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.5 per cent  from 2011 to 2016, finds Ovum.

The explosive growth of the telepresence market means many companies new to the technology will soon be making large purchasing decisions. In a new report*, the independent telecoms analysis firm explores the competitive dynamics within that telepresence market. The report helps businesses select telepresence providers based on the strength of their technology, their impact on the market, and the user experience of the product.

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Ian Jacobs, Ovum principal analyst and co-author of the report commented, “Businesses will face a difficult task in deciding on the right vendor in a particularly rapidly changing supplier marketplace.”

“They may return to their legacy video conferencing vendor for telepresence or look to new-breed video specialists. They might make the choice as a stand-alone decision or as part of a broader enterprise communication strategy.”

As part of that decision-making process, organizations must do a good deal of self-assessment, and face many choices. They must understand the reasons for the deployment of video, and what business issues the technology will solve. Once businesses have identified their goals, they must consider what features they require from a telepresence vendor.

“The good news is that telepresence products and services are now technologically mature, and offer a range of productivity-enhancing features and collaboration tools.”

The benefits of the technology are increasing, and making the right vendor choice is therefore of paramount importance to companies.