Video Conferencing Makes Communication Easier

In today's scenario, globalization is happening on a fast note and
communication technologies are helping to eradicate geographical boundaries.
Video is gaining importance due to cross-cultural engagement between employees
and organizations. As convergence brings voice, data, and video onto the same
network, new technologies are rewriting the rules of collaboration. In the past,
video conferences in particular have been difficult to set up, challenging to
use, and frequently unsatisfying in their ability to replicate in-person
meetings and the benefits of face-to-face interaction. To improve this
situation, companies are working on new technology that delivers a unique,
in-person experience over the converged network.

The audio-visual conferencing segment revenue rose by 15.2 percent during FY
2009-10. The segment grew Rs 265 crore from Rs 230 crore. Polycom retained its
top position with a revenue of Rs 110 crore, registering a growth of 10 percent.
All key players in this segment showed double digit growth. Factors such as
increasing competition from open-source audio and Web conferencing technologies,
high-pricing pressure and need for high infrastructure sophistication are
limiting the growth. With the onset of 3G video conferencing as well as
increasing popularity of software-based solutions and interest in enhanced
collaborative tools, the markets are providing vast opportunities for growth. In
order to save, business meetings are increasingly being conducted over
telecommunication networks with the help of video conferencing.

Neeraj Gill, MD, Polycom India and SAARC

"The modern day realities such as globalization and worldwide competition
continue to drive the need for real-time and life-like collaboration over
distance. Besides the growing adoption amongst newer verticals and
organizations, the average usage of existing video infrastructure and
enhancement is significantly growing amongst enterprises," said Neeraj Gill, MD,
Polycom India and SAARC. "Recently, Polycom in partnership with Reliance
Communications, has introduced the world's first wireless, high-resolution video
conferencing service. The Reliance Communication partnership is first of its
kind to bring wireless video conferencing and will be a game-changer and will
increase the scope of the market in future," stated Gill.

Cisco recently acquired Tanberg and they will together provide customers with
a complete portfolio of end-points, infrastructure and telepresence cloud
services. Together, Cisco and Tanberg are looking forward to capture the
collaboration market. Another key player in this segment, Actis Technologies,
launched a complete 3D telepresence center in India and has plans to open more
such centers across the country. LifeSize Communications has high-definition
video communication solutions, with more than 9,000 video conferencing products
across 80 countries. The pubic healthcare, enterprise and government sectors are
some of theverticals that LifeSize has a prominent presence in.

Started its operations in India in 2008, VIVA Communications has ventured
into video conferencing solutions for educational institutions. Srinivasan,
Founder and Director, VIVA Communications said, ''Education as a sector is
changing rapidly and deployment of technology is a must for any educational
institution to take advantage of the myriad benefits that it brings and utilize
it to improve the quality of education delivered. Our offering will enable more
innovation in the sector by opening the sector to new possibilities and by
making it a boxed solution in which VIVA takes care of everything. We have made
it easier for the sector, which is getting IT savvy to adopt this cutting-edge
technology.''

So far in India, only selected premier institutions have started offering
courses using video conferencing. The technology can even be used for conducting
lectures by overseas teachers and professors, removing the need for them to
travel and be physically present, thus allowing for access to global knowledge
without the accompanying overheads.

Initially to be rolled out in South India, the solution will allow schools
and colleges to bring in new innovative modes of teaching including e-learning
and distant-education programs in a cost-effective manner. VIVA Communications
has already invested close to Rs 10 lakh in requisite back-end infrastructure
and a renowned UK company's robust technology and infrastructure platform will
be utilized for reliable delivery of the solution.

Video conferencing plays a vital role in technical education, as a number of
course ware is available online and is being imparted through interactive modes.
The academic libraries have realized its benefits and introduced this facility
in their institutes. However, in India, the service is limited to elite academic
institutions and there is a need for other technical institutions to respond to
the situation and adopt this advanced pedagogic technology. There are
difficulties for individual colleges to implement such a costly program;
therefore, consortium-based application may benefit many students with the
innovative teaching and learning technique.

Business continuity has become a key priority for organizations. Beyond
traditional crisis management concerns, like the recent disruption caused by the
Iceland volcano and threats such as natural disasters, terrorism, sabotage etc,
business continuity is now also a matter of ensuring organizational performance.

Although the floundering economy had a negative impact on the global video
conferencing end-point market, the value proposition of video conferencing as
both a tool to help reduce travel and a productivity enabler was considerably
enhanced. Accordingly, after a short-term period of slower ramp up growth, the
market is poised to gather steam with increasing globalization, mobile workforce
disablement, and the expected greenfield deployments among SMBs, an area that is
currently under penetrated. A general consensus is that the Indian domestic
market presents a huge opportunity for the networking sector.

Ramkumar R

ramk@cybermedia.co.in