Video conferencing revenues hit by software competition, economy

The web based video conferencing market continues to be affected by an uncertain global economic environment and the trend toward lower-cost and software-only solutions, according to analysts at IDC.

However, businesses still view cloud-based video conferencing as an important and growing part of their larger collaboration efforts, the IDC analysts said in a recent report.

Growing demand

That combination of a growing demand for video and a soft and changing economic environment produced mixed revenue results for video meeting software equipment in the third quarter, they said. Across all segments of the market, revenues were up from the second quarter. However, when compared to the same period in 2012, the numbers declined.

“Interest in video and collaboration technology and applications helped the quarterly revenue numbers,” Rich Costello, senior analyst of enterprise communications infrastructure at IDC, said in a statement. “But the lingering macroeconomic situation – including some softness in emerging markets, the recession in Europe, and the sequestration in the US (i.e. budget cuts) – produced some cautionary IT spending that has impacted year-over-year video equipment revenue growth so far in 2013. In addition and most significantly, we are definitely starting to see the impact of lower-cost video systems and more software-centric products and offerings on the enterprise video equipment market.”

During the third quarter, revenue for multipoint video conferencing equipment – including the immersive telepresence offerings – grew 8.2 percent to $576 million (£363m) when compared with the second quarter, but fell 9.7 percent when compared with the third quarter of last year. That trend ran across all segments; for example, revenue for the multi-codec telepresence equipment grew 13.1 percent over the second quarter, while falling 16.3 percent year-to-year. Video infrastructure equipment, including multipoint control units (MCUs), grew 13.7 percent over the second quarter, but fell 16.7 percent from the third quarter in 2012.

The same trend hit room-based video systems and desktop video systems, the analysts said.

Software-based products

Video conferencing server pioneers like Cisco Systems and Polycom, which grew their video conferencing businesses on the back of high-end and pricey hardware systems, are adapting to the growing demand for less-costly software-based solutions that enable users to participate in video meetings from anywhere and on any device, including smartphones, tablets and notebooks.

That demand is fueling the drive behind such smaller vendors as Vidyo and Blue Jeans Network, who offer software- and cloud-based solutions. The development of WebRTC also will make it easier for virtual conferences to be accessed via web browsers.

However, despite the revenue numbers declining year over year, the interest in online web meeting remains strong, according to Petr Jirovsky, research manager of IDC’s Worldwide Networking Trackers unit.

“Video as a key component of collaboration continues to place high on the list of priorities for many organisations,” Jirovsky said in a statement. “IDC believes that among the challenges customers are currently trying to work through are exactly when and how to provision their video deployments, as more software-centric solutions and video cloud service offerings become part of the enterprise video market landscape.”

Unified communications

A growing number of unified communications vendors also are adding video offerings to their solutions, as evidence by such moves as Avaya’s acquisition last year of Radvision and the partnership announced in June between Mitel and Vidyo.

Cisco – the leader in the web meeting software equipment market with a 44.7 percent share – saw revenues that were up 17.9 percent over the second quarter, but were down 7.6 percent over the third quarter in 2012. Polycom saw revenues fall 11.4 percent quarter-to-quarter and decline 14.5 percent year-to-year. The company is still No. 2 in the space, with a 23.9 percent market share.

Huawei Technologies is third, with a 10.1 percent share of the global enterprise web conferencing software market. Its revenues grew 43.2 percent over the second quarter and 2.5 percent over the same period last year. Huawei executives said last year that the company intended to challenge Cisco in the space.

Article Source: Video conferencing revenues hit by software competition, economy

Free screen sharing software

Screen sharing is the viewing and controlling of other people’s computer. During a screen sharing, one participant shares a screen with other participants and allows them to control the computer.
There are many screen sharing software programs, some are free, some are paid, some are web-based, some need to be downloaded.

Screen sharing is a great beneficial for companies who need to communicate and collaborate with their widely dispersed employees and customers alike, it is also good for online teaching for those who can’t afford to attend the class in person, and also perfect for tech person to give remote support for anyone in need. In this way, a great amount of money can be eliminated and productivity can be increased.

Need to find a proper free screen sharing software? When you search online, you will find many programs promised to be free, while some of them do as they said, some of them only offer trial versions with limited features. Whether free or not, you need to get to know can compare first, before you can make your final decisions. Just have a look at the following five free screen sharing software.

1. ScreenLeap
ScreenLeap is a free and web-based screen sharing tool which does only screen sharing. The main feature that it has is its ability to share the session several ways. Their whole selling point is one-click sharing, which works well if you have Java enabled. It takes about 20 seconds to load. You get a code, give it to someone who needs to view your screen on a desktop, a tablet or even a smartphone. This is really convenient, because many people prefer tablets and phones to computers.

The big downside is Java. On Macs, for example, Apple has disabled Java because of security reasons. This means you can’t share your screen unless you enable Java again, but it will also make your computer less secure. The other disadvantage is that the free service only supports 2 hours a day of screen sharing.

2. CrossLoop
CrossLoop is a perfect screen sharing tool depending on what you follow the person who is accessing your computer to do it that can work on both Windows and Mac. Its main focus is to be intermediary tool to help resolve someone’s computer issues, and it is ideal for one-on-one connection, while, other programs mights allow several to connect at one time.

CroosLoop is also very easy to use, but requires that each party install the CrossLoop software on their computers. It’s basically got two tabs: Access and Share. You want to share your desktop, you give the share code to the other person and they type that code into the Access tab. Vice versa if you want to connect to someone else’s desktop.

3. Skype
You may not feel strange if we talk about Skype. Right, you may use it already. It is one of the most popular programs that many people may already have installed on their computer. With it,  you can easily share your screen with another Skype user and it’s extremely convenient since Skype is a safe and trusted program that many people already know and use.

The only disadvantage of Skype is that you can share your screen with someone for free over a voice call. If you want to share your screen on a video call, you will need to have Skype Premium.

4. ShowMyPC
ShowMyPC is focused on screen sharing; it can be used on Windows, Mac and Linux alike. With simple to use interface and easy to access function, it is really a good choice if you need to share your screen.

The trail version has the following features: take and share screenshots, Android phone support, limited chat room whiteboard, limited application sharing, file transfer, schedule meetings, one-hour password length, one-hour session duration and limited participants per meeting, which varies based on network traffic.

5. CUMeeting
CUMeeting is a client-based screen sharing software. It is can be work with Windows and mobile devices such as iOS devices, iPhone, iPad, Android devices, Samsung, HTC etc. It is ideal for those who need to share their screen.

The main features of CUMeeting including screen sharing, desktop sharing, application sharing, file sharing, file transfer, whiteboard, host limited meetings, text exchange, remote control, voting, meeting recording, hd video conferencing etc.

Article Source: Free screen sharing software

Free desktop sharing software

What is desktop sharing? According to Wikipedia, Desktop sharing is a common name for technologies and products that allow remote access and remote collaboration on a person's computer desktop through some third-party programs.

Desktop sharing was initially used by tech person to deliver tech help for those who need in emergency or are not able to be present at site. And now, it is widely used by almost all industries. It can be used to either to communicate with widely dispersed customers, deliver online teaching or training to remote students or give tech support etc.

Then, how can you find a good online desktop sharing software? You maybe puzzled by lots of programs found online. Then, never mind, we have already list 6 free desktop sharing software programs. Of course, some of them are not free, but with powerful features than the free one. Just compare and choose the one you need.

1. Proxy Networks
Proxy Networks is a safe, reliable and efficient desktop sharing software. It is designed to help desk technicians, network administrators and IT mangers with the best remote support software available. With it, you can establish, monitor and audit employee access to every single workstation, whether virtual or physical --- both on the LAN and off.

 

2. BeamYourScreen 
BeamYourScreen is an easy-to-use desktop sharing software that enables one or several participants to view your computer screen live over the Internet. It allows you to easily conduct secure online meetings and remote support sessions with customers, business partners, and coworkers without having to leave your office.

3. TeamViewer
TeamViewer is a top desktop sharing software. It equips with features like full time access to remote computers and servers, you can also do online meetings, training sessions and presentations can be done easily. You can access your office computer from home, data and applications can be accessed anytime and from anywhere you want.

4. Skype Desktop Sharing
Sharing your computer screen is the easy way to collaborate with a friend or colleague. You can use Skype Desktop Sharing to share your desktop with friends or colleagues. With Skype Desktop Sharing, you can easily show exactly what you are looking at by simply calling your Skype contact and sharing all part of your desktop.

 

5. GoToMyPC
GoToMyPC is the fast, easy and secure way to access your Mac or PC from any Web browser in real time. It has the following features, such as access files, programs, email, and network, increase your flexibility and productivity, work on your office computer from home, travel and use your Mac or PC remotely.

6. CUMeeting
CUMeeting is a versatile desktop sharing software that enables you to share your desktop to other people or remote control other people’s computer. It can be used on computer, laptop and mobile devices like iOS devices and Android devices. It is can be widely used by all industries to have online meeting, conduct online teaching and training, do video presentation and host webinars etc.

Article Source: Free desktop sharing software

Shorter, focused video conferencing the way forward

Video conferencing has not made the inroads into face-to-face meetings that many expected and Simon Pryor, chief executive of the Mathematical Association of Victoria believes it's a question of delivery - and that long sessions via cloud-based video conferencing impede the aim of the digital technology.

Pryor, speaking at the recent PCO conference in Melbourne, Australia cited a recent project to deliver training to maths teachers across Victoria about a complicated piece of software called Mathematica that was failing to achieve the desired results.  

"Teachers were trained in situ; there was insufficient funding for centralised training.

"Now hundreds of schools have video conferencing server equipment and we could have delivered the training modules to schools via the conferencing technology - but we eventually realised most people were uncertain how to use it for educational purposes.

"Teachers failed to embrace the web based video conferencing technology - we actually turned the machines off after 15 minutes as everyone started to fiddle and get bored," said Pryor.

"We next explored the systems used by Australia's Distance Learning Universities from the 1970s and 80s.

"Several universities including Deakin University and University of New England produced courses (in those days it was bound paper), but they were delivering university quality courses to people in remote areas by what was known as Distance Education.

"Even then, they realised 'a big fat folder of stuff' did not encourage student engagement and consequently, students were not learning and were not submitting essays or feedback.

"So the academics switched to shorter lessons including a wider range of learning activities that made the program attractive to students and resulted in a much higher degree of student
involvement and participation.

"It was a highly structured program back in the 1980s.  So we applied those instructional design principles to multipoint video conferencing technology in 2013. We decided we would not deliver to 50 schools via the internet. Instead we would pick four schools that could host a meeting of 15-20 people.

"We had groups of people coming together in Mildura and Geelong and other regions throughout the state. We used shorter slabs of information and included activities at the local base to improve participation.  

"Our research showed even 15 minute sessions were sometimes too long. We found 10 minute sessions often provided the maximum benefit to student and teacher alike and used free screen sharing software to maximum effect."

These studies and practical sessions results have ramifications for free desktop sharing software in general.

"The lesson we learned is that if we stream something from our web site, people say thank you but rarely watch it," said Pryor. "If companies and associations reviewed the way they used the medium and opted for shorter, punchier interactive sessions they would see an improvement in results from their use of secure video conferencing."

Article Source: Shorter, focused video conferencing the way forward

Indiana University Expands Videoconferencing Services with Pexip Inc

Indiana University announced it will partner with Norwegian company Pexip Inc. to deliver expanded virtual meeting software services to its eight campuses and 135,000 students, faculty and staff. The new service, Pexip Infinity, is a software platform that provides personal meeting rooms for users on video, voice and mobile. IU will deploy Infinity in spring 2014. With guidance and consulting from SKC Communications, IU and Pexip are creating the most scalable video infrastructure in higher education.

“With thousands of students, faculty and staff all over the state, connecting with people all over the world, Indiana University requires a videoconferencing system that is robust enough and flexible enough to adapt to the future”

From far-flung students taking distance education courses to distant colleagues holding face-to-face meetings, free web conferencing is how things get done at Indiana University. In fact, IU hosts one of the largest web meeting software installations in the United States, with approximately 100,000 unique connections and 100,000 video connection hours each year, and 176 videoconferencing-delivered courses each semester.

“With thousands of students, faculty and staff all over the state, connecting with people all over the world, Indiana University requires a online web meeting system that is robust enough and flexible enough to adapt to the future,” said Anastasia Morrone, IU associate vice president for learning technologies. “By adding Pexip Infinity to IU’s current suite of collaborative technologies, the university gains the edge it needs in our age of global, high-tech communication.”

Pexip Infinity takes advantage of the new WebRTC (Web Real Time Communication) two-way virtual conferencing capabilities that are native in Google Chrome and Firefox browsers. IU students, faculty and staff – and their guests – will need nothing more than a web browser to join a conference: It’s as simple as going to a URL, typing your name, and clicking “join.”

Distance education and collaboration are on the rise at IU, and the university has been seeking to expand its capacity – while using existing systems – for about a year. “Pexip Infinity grows as IU’s needs grow by allowing us to leverage our video conferencing server infrastructure to size the video bridging as needed. As we add capacity, we simply bring up more virtual servers and nodes,” said James McGookey, manager of IU Collaboration Technologies. “This lets us offer distance education courses to even more students and make teaching easier for faculty. For example, let’s say a professor wants to have a presenter speak remotely to a class from overseas – Infinity provides easy connections for the user while outputting high-quality video. It’s a win for everyone.”

“We are proud to be part of the evolution of IU’s distance education program together with SKC Communications,” said Simen Teigre, co-founder and CEO of Pexip. “IU is at the forefront of featuring the next generation of technology in higher education, and it is exciting to partner with such an innovative organization to enable students and educators to easily and quickly connect from wherever they are.”

With Pexip Infinity’s native support of Microsoft Lync, IU now has a truly unified communications environment. “This is central to our web based  video conferencing strategy: When users know they’ve got easy, instant access to the bridge from any device or room, videoconferencing becomes just another app, like email or chat,” said Steve Egyhazi, principal analyst-multimedia, IU Collaboration Technologies.

Article Source: Indiana University Expands Videoconferencing Services with Pexip Inc

Video conferencing security 101

Like any IP-based technology, multipoint video conferencing is subject to security threats, and IT managers must factor security into their purchase and deployment decisions. Last year, there was a lot of talk around thepotential vulnerabilities of room-based systems. This year, I’m hearing a number of concerns around WebRTC building security into browser-based communications.

Sally Johnson of TechTarget wrote an interesting piece on WebRTC and the security issues at hand. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but for now, WebRTC remains a technology of the future. In the meantime, there are a number of ways to keep your cloud-based video conferencing secure – whether you’re in IT or just a daily user of the technology.

When it comes to room-based systems, the first and most important precaution that anyone can take is to turn the ‘auto-answer’ function off – especially if your systems are connected to the public Internet. IT should be aware of this, and Scopia systems always automatically default the auto-answer function to ‘off.’ We take security very seriously, and we have several built-in security features that are seamless to end users.

But it’s also good to know how you – the end user – can help protect your virtual meeting software rooms. Below are five tips for keeping your Video conferencing room secure.

1. Set room systems to manual answer, mute your mics when not in use, and make sure whiteboards in conference rooms are wiped clean after each meeting.

2. Use a virtual room with moderator capabilities instead of point-to-point calling – using a virtual room opens up a plethora of security options that are intuitive and easy-to-use.

3. Create a lobby for your meeting – no one can join without the moderator.

4. Require participants to use personal identification numbers (PINs) when entering your virtual room.

5. Familiarize yourself with the meeting moderation functions  of your virtual room:

• Anyone not invited to a meeting would not be allowed entrance into the meeting.
• You can use ad-hoc functions to lock your meeting – for example, one click of your mouse or one tap on your iPhone will lock down the meeting so no one else can enter.
• If you want to remove a participant, all you need to do is click again or swipe on our iPhone, and they are ejected from the call.=

Some of these may seem intuitive, but it’s easy to forget you have these options available in your virtual meeting room. The good news is you don’t need to be an IT administrator to make sure your meeting room is secure. You just need to follow the simple steps above.

Article Source: Video conferencing security 101

Top five benefits of cloud-based video for SMBs

While “the cloud” has been a bit of a buzzword in the past, the reality is that reliable cloud-based, real-time communication solutions are available now – and these offerings are proving to be robust, efficient and a cost-effective alternative to premises-based technologies.

What’s more… cloud-based services can help level the playing field between SMB’s and large enterprises by making powerful communications technology, including cloud-based video conferencing, accessible and affordable.

We recently announced the Avaya Collaborative Cloud, our cloud enablement strategy for unified communications as a service (UCaaS), contact center services (CCaaS), and Internet video conferencing as a service (VaaS). We’ve also teamed with some of the world’s leading service providers including Orange Business Services and Chunghwa Telecom to deliver cloud-based collaboration.

Below are what I consider to be the top five benefits of cloud video conferencing for SMBs.

1. Cost: Hosted video offers a variety of services to choose from, including virtual rooms that can be accessed from your desktop, room-based systems that you can buy or lease (at a fraction of the cost of older systems), and the ability to collaborate from your mobile device (BYOD). This flexibility gives you the option to invest only in the technology you need, allowing your customers and partners to communicate with you by video at no additional cost. It also helps reduce the need for travel.
2. Reliability: Video conferencing server offers high-quality, always available video conferencing without the overhead costs and complexities associated with managing the network yourself. And built-in intelligence and firewall traversal technologies help ensure you’ll have a reliable connection, regardless of network limitations.
3. Scalability: You can now “buy by the drink instead of the bottle” without having to make large investments upfront. As your business grows, your hosted video solution can grow with you. So invest in what your SMB needs now with confidence that you can always increase your video usage later.
4. Productivity (and it’s green!): Web meeting software has been improving the productivity of large companies for years. The ROI is proven, and as we continue to make technological leaps and bounds, the expectation that you can easily collaborate across distances in real-time with co-workers, partners and vendors is dramatically increasing. By leveraging free web conferencing solutions, SMBs can meet face-to-face without the need to drive to another location or step foot on plane – which also means that video conferencing has the added benefits of being a green technology that lowers your carbon footprint!
5. Business Relationships: There’s no question that meeting face-to-face with people helps establish relationships and build rapport. Online web meeting allows you to meet “in-person” without leaving your office (or home, or coffee shop…). People who don’t use video say, “It’s so nice to finally meet you,” to those they’ve interacted with only by phone. But if you use video and you end up in the same room as your colleagues, instead you’ll hear, “It’s great tod see you again!” There’s a big difference between the two.

And now, SMBs can benefit from rich video interactions. They can easily take advantage of hosted services and ultimately improve collaboration, increase productivity, enhance relationships, offer demonstrated ROI and improve the business’ bottom line.

Article Source: Top five benefits of cloud-based video for SMBs

Webinar Software

Before we go into the topic, we need to get a general idea of what is webinar. According to related online explanation, a webinar is conference, meeting or presentation conducted on the Internet. A key feature of a Webinar is its interactive elements -- the ability to give, receive and discuss information

Webinar software is mainly by business for cutting travel cost and to communicate and collaborate in real-time and effectively with remote co-workers, partners and consumers anywhere, anytime on the computer or on mobile devices like iOS devices and Android devices.

Business can be benefit from webinar software in the following three ways:
1. Hold online meetings: Business uses webinar software frequently for online meetings. The main advantage of holding online meetings with webinar software is that, it can gradually reduce or eliminate costs incurring from business. It of course can also save a lot time spent on travelling. With webinar software, all participants involved can be engaged in one meeting at the same time and communicate and collaborate interactively regardless of distance.

2. Hold sales presentation: This is extremely important for business. It is a convenient substitute for face-to-face meetings. You can do your sales presentations vividly with multiple presentation features, you can share your screen, show videos, launch a PowerPoint presentation or demonstrate software with ease. Besides, you can also transfer files if required.

3. Do employee training: This is extremely convenient for business to train their geographically dispersed employees. With webinar software, business can provide online training for their employees relating to company regulations, career training, product training and other types of training which can be beneficial not only for employees and but also business.

Where to find a proper webinar software? Here, you can turn to CUMeeting, which is a powerful and easy to use webinar software that can help you do the following things: live video conferencing, text chat, whiteboard, annotations, screen/desktop/application, file sharing, file transfer, voting, remote control, record the sessions and break-out sessions etc. For detailed information about CUMeeting Webinar Software, just click here.

Article Source: Webinar Software

Web Presentation Software

In the past, PowerPoint is widely used for presentation. And now, there are a large variety of online web presentation tools for you to do presentation with multiple ways. Below, we will show you 5 web presentation softwares.

1. Empressr
Empressr is a free web based application, a rich media presentation tool which allows you to add photos, music, video and audio, and insert charts and tables as well so as to share it publicly or privately in an instant.

The standard version of Empressr enables you to collaborate and share video and audio. However, we are not sure if this tool is supported, because the blog hasn’t been updated 2010, but it is still a good choice for those who want to improve their PowerPoint presentations.

2. Prezi
Prezi is one of the most impressive zooming presentation software that allows users to create presentations online. It offers an innovative solution for creating stunning non-linear presentations by zooming into your content instead of the traditional transitional slides.

It is available where there is an internet connection.;It is also able to work offline and to set security levels around who can see your animated presentations. Because Prezi is non-linear, it’s easy to jump from editing one part to another, although this can be difficult to get used to at first.

3. SlideRocket
SlideRocket is a web based solution that allows you to create presentations using slide transitions, object effects, themes and layouts, shapes, charts, tables, images, audio and video. It a revolutionary new approach to business communications designed from the start to help you make great presentations that engage you audience and deliver tangible results.

SlideRocket can be available everywhere, no matter online, offline or mobile, it allows multiple users to create and access presentations online using a wide collection of templates and effects. It works smoothly with existing desktop presentations with the easy import function.

4. Google Docs
Google Docs is part of Google Drive, it is a web presentation software to allow you to import PowerPoint or OpenOffice presentations as well as creating new ones from scratch. As a PowerPoint alternative, this may not be as powerful, but it is free.

You can import an existing PowerPoint presentation for editing, or start from scratch with Google’s own templates. And there are 450+ fonts; you can use too. You can embed images and YouTube videos, but unfortunately not sound, which may limit its utility for some users.

5. Zoho Show
Zoho Show’s presentation software is a cloud-based option that supports the import of many file types (.ppt, .pptx, .pps, .ppsx, .odp, .sxi) and retains the look of the original document when viewed online. As a Powerpoint alternative, Zoho’s clean and simple interface is easy to navigate.

You can Create, manage, organize, share and collaborate on documents easily with Zoho Docs. It also allows you to create presentations from scratch, using themes and lay outs, or upload existing ones from your desktop or the internet. Media handling, however is limited, with only images allowed (you can embed videos using HTML code).

You can choose the suitable one. However, as all of the five web presentation tools have their disadvantages. If you found none of the tools can’t meet your requirements. You can turn to a professional web presentation software like CUMeeting, which allows you do presentation not only with PowerPoint, but with videos and other interactive tools such as text exchange, whiteboard, file sharing, screen sharing, desktop sharing, application sharing, voting, remote control etc.

Article Source: Web Presentation Software

Online Collaboration Software

Collaboration is important to business as water is to fish. It is true, but not completely for it is crucial for all industries such as business, government, school, healthcare, finance etc. However, with workmates work in geographically dispersed locations, it is necessary to collaboration online while still maintain work efficiently with a good online collaboration software.

CUMeeting online collaboration software serves the purpose perfect, it consists of many different applications that are hosted “on-demand” under the SaaS model, meaning that the software is client-based, hosted on the Cloud and can be accessed when necessary.

CUMeeting online collaboration software provides multiple online collaboration tools such as HD video conferencing, instant messaging (text message), whiteboard, file sharing, screen sharing, application sharing, remote control, multipoint broadcasting, conferencing recording so as to meet your collaboration requirements from all aspects.

For hospital and healthcare: Remote collaboration for hard-to-treat diseases between hospitals or medical experts inside or outside the country, or medical training for medical staff.

For government: Intra government affairs, affairs between the same level or different levels of governments, and international government affairs such as combat drugs, criminals, terrorists.

For military: For unified military exercise, military officials can get full management of military activities and situations using CUMeeting online collaboration software.

For business: Collaborate easily and effectively with different departments and external parties, manage your projects and activities with accuracy and efficiency, get a bird’s eye view of the projects and activities and increase the organizational performance, manage your resources and have a overall view on their activities.

According to related statistics, there are close to 25 million small businesses in the U.S alone, and that group is extraordinary diverse in terms of industries, numbers of employees and their day-to-day activities. There is one common thread, however. “The one thing everybody in every small business does all day is collaborate”, said small business technology analyst Laurie McCabe of the SMB Group.

Why not get an online collaboration software to improve work productivity and revenue. Just act now.

Article Source: Online Collaboration Software

Mixed 3Q13 revenue results for video conferencing equipment market—IDC says

In the third quarter of 2013, the worldwide enterprise cloud-based video conferencing and telepresence equipment market has posted mixed results, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Enterprise Video conferencing and Telepresence QView. Quarter over quarter, the overall video conferencing equipment revenue has increased 8.2 percent but has dropped 9.7 percent year over year.

IDC estimates the total 3Q13 global video equipment market revenue to reach $576 million. Quarterly revenue growth showed an increase across all market segments, but there was a decline in the yearly revenue growth.

Revenue for multi-codec immersive telepresence equipment bounded 13.1 percent quarter over quarter, but waned 16.3 percent year over year. For video infrastructure equipment, which includes hardware MCUs and other video-related products, the revenue went up by 13.7 percent quarter over quarter and dropped 16.7 percent year over year. 

A quarter-over-quarter increase of six percent and year-over-year decrease of five percent were posted in 3Q13 for room-based video systems. Desktop video systems, on the other hand, showed a quarter-over-quarter revenue growth of 4.7 percent and a year-over-year decline of 13.6 percent.

This year’s third quarter results showed positive quarter-over-quarter revenue growth for the following regions: Latin America (41.8 percent); Europe, Middle East, and Africa or EMEA (22.6 percent); and North America (3.9 percent). Asia/Pacific was the sole region that posted a decline (-3.7 percent) for quarter-over-quarter revenue growth.

In a year-over-year perspective, the 3Q13 revenue growth showing for the different regions is as follows: Asia/Pacific (-13.7 percent), North America (-18.2 percent), EMEA (3.4 percent), and Latin America (10.7 percent).

Capturing 44.7 percent of the worldwide market in enterprise video conferencing server equipment, Cisco maintains its lead against other vendors, according to the latest 3Q13 results from IDC. Cisco posted a quarter-over-quarter revenue increase of 17.9 percent and a year-over-year decline of 7.6 percent in video equipment revenue.

Ranking next to Cisco with a 23.9 percent worldwide market share in enterprise virtual meeting software equipment, Polycom’s 3Q13 performance as reported by IDC included a quarter-over-quarter revenue decline of 11.4 percent and a year-over-year drop of 14.5 percent.

Ranking third among key enterprise web meeting software equipment vendors for this year’s third quarter, Huawei took in a 10.1 percent share of the worldwide enterprise videoconferencing market. Huawei posted a quarter-over-quarter revenue jump of 43.2 percent and a year-over-year growth of 2.5 percent.

“Interest in video and collaboration technology and applications helped the quarterly revenue numbers. But the lingering macroeconomic situation – including some softness in emerging markets, the recession in Europe, and the sequestration in the U.S. (i.e. budget cuts) – produced some cautionary IT spending that has impacted year-over-year video equipment revenue growth so far in 2013,” said Rich Costello, senior analyst for Enterprise Communications Infrastructure at IDC. 

“In addition and most significantly, we are definitely starting to see the impact of lower-cost video systems and more software-centric products and offerings on the enterprise video equipment market.” (KOM) 

Article Source: Mixed 3Q13 revenue results for video conferencing equipment market—IDC says

Seeing is believing: video conferencing for your business

Cloud-based video conferencing is easier than ever. Nearly anyone with a laptop or smartphone can do video calls these days. Why bother with conference calls when you can meet up in person, virtually speaking? Business is all about relationships, and videoconferencing is a much better tool for teamwork and collaboration than voice alone.

Why Use Video

So why is Internet video conferencing better than phone? It’s a superior communications tool, second only to real-life meetings. Studies have shown that about two thirds of all communication is actually nonverbal. With videoconferencing, you can pick up on visual cues such as facial expression, body language, and gestures. These inform the conversation and strengthen overall communications. With a phone call, all you get is voice. That means you are missing critical elements of every interaction. There simply is no substitute.

Another key benefit is engagement. On conference calls that are voice-only, people may multitask and lose focus. Since you can’t see them, you can’t tell what else they may be doing besides listening. On a video call, you are expected to visibly pay attention to the topic at hand, and the rest of the participants can easily see if you get side-tracked. This is a level of accountability not possible with voice calls.

Ironically, video conferencing server can be more efficient than regular meetings as well. Since there is a defined start and end, with people calling in from different locations, there is less likely to be as much chit chat before and after. That keeps meetings very focused.

Obviously lan video conferencing has a variety of additional benefits: it can bring people together across multiple locations, it supports telecommuters by keeping them in touch with teammates, and it reduces travel expenses. It’s green too, since it reduces the need for travel.

Other Uses for Video conferencing

Virtual meeting software can be used for far more than just team meetings. It’s highly effective for interviews, making it a great screening tool for out-of-town candidates. It’s excellent for training, and sessions can be recorded for reference at a later date. It’s also a terrific tool to use with prospects and customers. Your sales people can have much more personal contact by video as they are working through the sales process, and you can ensure great customer service by conferencing in customers as you work together with them. Even one-on-one meetings between staff members can be enhanced with video instead of just voice.

Video conferencing Tools

If you have a PC with a camera and microphone, you can web meeting software. You simply need a service to facilitate the calls. Some of the most popular services are Citrix GoToMeeting, Adobe Connect, Cisco WebEx Meeting Center, Fuze Meeting Pro, and Skype Premium.

Each has its pros and cons, but the core of all these products is web-based video conferencing. Skype is one of the least expensive options if you just want to try out whether this works for you. As long as the main caller has Skype Premium, you can conference in up to ten callers. The other callers can use free accounts.

If you like Skype but want to do more, consider exploring the more robust services listed above. They allow for more callers and provide more online collaboration tools – at additional cost, of course. Each company has slightly different needs, so you will want to test which service is right for your organization.

To enhance your video capabilities, upgrade your conference room with a large wall-mounted display that’s connected to a PC. Hook up a quality camera and microphone. Then you can easily host group online web meeting.

If you find that staff are using free web conferencing one-on-one, check out video chat options that allow for quick connections. Lync, from Microsoft, offers this; Skype is also an easy and effective tool. A good quality webcam costs less than $100, making it easy and cost-effective to provide high quality video to everyone on your team.

The only other item you will need to consider is Internet bandwidth. If you are running free web conference on a regular basis, they take a lot more bandwidth than phone calls and email. A T1 will be maxed out in no time. Check out high-speed fiber Internet connections, or at least a fast cable Internet connection. Pricing continues to drop, making the additional bandwidth steadily more affordable. If you go with a cable connection, get the fastest upload speed you can. A fast download means you will be able to receive audio and video from others, but without a good upload your audio and video may come across as choppy.

Mobile Options

You can cloud video conferencing from anywhere, not just your desk or conference room. Anyone with a laptop likely has a camera built in, and for very little extra you can upgrade them to an HD-quality videocam. However, a laptop is not required. Mobile devices like tablets and even smartphones will work for most of the video conferencing tools listed here. This means your team can meet from nearly any location.

High End Systems

These options still can’t replicate the quality and ease of the high end free web conferencing software systems, like Lifesize, Cisco TelePresence, and Polycom. These systems are expensive and consume huge amounts of bandwidth, but they provide the highest quality connections. The goal of these pricey systems is to make it feel like you are sitting right across the table from the other callers. Multiple high-definition cameras with eye-tracking features and directional microphones are programmed to replicate an in-person experience as closely as possible.

Getting Started

A free Skype account and a couple webcams are all you need to get started with online meeting software. Next time you want to do a conference call, try video instead. Connect to team members working from home, customers in another city, or even staff who are travelling. As you expand your horizons, try screen-sharing or use a virtual whiteboard so that you can collaborate with everyone on the call. Once you get accustomed to videoconferencing, you will find more and more ways to use it. It’s a great way to bring your team and your customers together.

Article Source: Seeing is believing: video conferencing for your business

How vide oconferencing can help redefine your marketing strategy

Laura McLellan, research vice president at Gartner Inc., has predicted that by 2017, a company’s chief marketing officer will spend more on IT than the chief information officer.

Indeed, marketers are starting to take the lead in technology purchases. One of the transformative technologies marketers are pursuing is cloud-based video conferencing. Video touches almost every part of business communications, helping to make marketers more important than ever in the hierarchy of a corporate management team.

Marketers are now viewed as versatile corporate management executives, whose abilities are valuable for other corporate functions, including human resources and general business communications.

The marketing department already purchases almost half of all marketing-related technologies and services, according to the 2012 Gartner study. Marketers also influence decisions to purchase almost half of all technology, with video meeting software often being one of those purchases.

Along the way, the growth of marketing applications and systems has created an alliance between the marketing and IT departments. Because marketing technology applications and services must work flawlessly with back-end systems, the connection between a company’s IT and marketing departments is growing tighter than in any other aspect of an organization’s operations.

The increased role of technology in marketing also has given rise to greater IT capability within the marketing department itself. In many businesses, the marketing department may now be staffed with its own teams responsible for the reliable operation and maintenance of the company’s Web presence, as well as practically every other part of its technical operations. The IT department’s responsibility is to ensure that servers and backend systems are running optimally.

In the arsenal of marketing technologies, lan video conferencing provides new communications channels for everything from product introductions and corporate news events to customer training. Consequently, today’s marketing professional is evolving to more than the keeper of the brand and the developer of sales leads.

How, specifically, is web conferencing software technology elevating the work of marketers? One notable example is press briefings. Even in my own organization, we prefer video calls to teleconferences if the reporter has broadband Internet access. It’s an extremely useful option when reaching out to national or international media all at once.

Using video, both sides know they have each party’s complete attention, and are not distracted by the temptation to multitask. Visual cues such as body language enable you to understand how your message is being accepted. That’s especially important when dealing with clients for whom English may be a second language.
As the Gartner study showed, the marketing department is buying a wide range of technologies and services from many different vendors. Integrating these various applications and services must be seamless and failsafe.

As marketers, we are constantly bringing new technology such as Internet video conferencing to bear in support of our company’s brand and sales goals. By becoming better stewards of technology, we become more trusted members of the organization’s leadership, with a greater voice in the long-term direction of our business.

Article Source: How video conferencing can help redefine your marketing strategy