There is an increased use of videoconferencing system for recruitment of candidates, interaction with relatives settled abroad, reviews and meetings, product launches, press conferences etc. Apart from this, videoconferencing is  also used for matrimonial purposes.A number of universities abroad, interview candidates over videoconferencing before giving them admissions.

Some of the other applications that are likely to grow in importance over the next couple of years are  in healthcare, education, and government segments, as prices for hardware and bandwidth reduces and awareness about the technology spreads in the market. At present, most of the enterprises connect via ISDN. However, Internet based connections are increasing in popularity and many conference facilities today, is over IP network.

Factors such as cost of ownership, maintenance of infrastructure, and general perception that people had about conferencing as a luxury is slowly dying. Also with the wide scale adoption of ICT technologies, videoconferencing is headed for a bright future.

There has been a continuous high adoption of videoconferencing by the government (including defense). Successful attempts of telemedicine by leading hospitals have resulted into heavy demand from the healthcare sector. In addition, there has been drastic price reduction due to high competition that has also resulted in the increase in market penetration.

On the technology front, the industry is moving towards multipoint videoconferencing and desktop conferencing. There has been a conscious move from ISDN towards IP based videoconferencing. Data transfer on video, on-line group communication, and  interviews on video are the latest examples of the same. However, the availability of broadband at competitive prices is a potential key enabler for a further wider market adoption.

SP Partnership
Partnering with SPs is working out to be a rewarding model for the VC players. Few leading players in the space are planning to tie up with retail chains so that walk-in customers can buy their products. Today, a number of telcos are setting up retail stores and will pave the road ahead for most vendors. This will help them achieve both retail walk-in for applications and retail walk-in for purchase.

For example, Polycom has tied up with Reliance, which has a network of 260 'Reliance WebWorlds' where customers can go and do video meetings and video chatting-all these WebWorlds use Polycom solutions. One can pay something like Rs 350 for 20 minutes of video call, which comes out to be cheaper than an ISD calls. 

Tandberg currently in discussions is expected to make announcement in India-on a global level SPs are a very critical component for their go to market strategy.

The recent advancements in video and collaboration tools is ushering in a new era of video telephony facilitating easy access and usage of videoconferencing. The migration to converged IP networks and the spread of IP telephony has also provided a receptive platform infrastructure that can enable video to become an integrated element within the telephony environment.

With broadband technologies making the Internet a viable option, Web conferencing is further gaining ground among corporates. Companies are using the technology for the launch of their products and carrying out campaigns.

Looking forward, drastic reduction in the average price of videoconferencing equipment, overall improvement in network infrastructures and bandwidth capabilities, migration of videoconferencing from ISDN towards IP based videoconferencing are the few factors that will make sure that the videoconferencing industry will see an exponential growth in the coming year.

Minu Sirsalewala
minuvs@cybermedia.co.in

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