Digital Lifescapes

Even the most reluctant CEOs have discovered that supporting their remote workers was less disruptive than they anticipated. Moreover, productivity often increased as jubilant workers were freed from the noise and other distractions at their employer's poorly designed open-plan offices. Short audio or video conference meet-ups have replaced the typical 1-hour long mind-numbing in-person meetings that were common at many enterprises prior to the pandemic. Legacy business leaders that were not previously Agile converts have now embraced these online collaboration tools. It's amazing. Conferencing Solutions Market Development Global end-user investment on cloud-based web conferencing solutions will grow 24.3 percent in 2020, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Global workplace restrictions spurred by the coronavirus pandemic will expand the cloud conferencing user base throughout 2020, but growth may actually taper off in 2021 as the lasting effects...

I recall when some of the first videoconferencing systems were installed in multinational enterprises across America, more than two decades ago. Since that time, there have been many new developments in video communication-related technologies and associated services. The introduction of Telepresence was a significant advancement. However, the arrival of software app and web-based services -- such as Microsoft Skype and Google Hangouts -- have raised expectations for online collaboration ease-of-use and transformed how video meetings are conducted across the public Internet. In the first quarter of 2016 (Q1 2016), video conferencing revenue declined 22 percent quarter-over-quarter to $701 million due to lower seasonal demand, according the the latest worldwide market study by IHS Technology . Video Communication Market Development Videoconferencing revenue is also trending down slightly on a year-over-year basis, primarily due to decreases in infrastructure sales. Demand for...

Why travel to meet with employees and vendor partners when you can just as easily interact with them via online video communication? Whatever motivates people to endure airline departure delays and airport security lines, just so they can attend internal business meetings, it clearly isn't their increased productivity. Enterprise videoconferencing and telepresence systems market showed mixed results in the first quarter of 2016 (1Q16), with overall videoconferencing equipment revenue decreasing 21.1 percent quarter over quarter, but increasing 2.3 percent year over year, according to the latest study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The total worldwide enterprise video equipment revenue in 1Q16 was over $495 million -- that's down from about $628 million in 4Q15. The total number of videoconferencing units sold in 1Q16 (101,391) decreased 8.0 percent quarter over quarter, but increased 9.9 percent compared to 1Q15. "Some mixed news for the worldwide enterpris...

Applications for a variety of video-based communication and collaboration use-cases have grown significantly over the last decade. Overall market adoption has been fueled by free services -- such as Microsoft Skype and Google Hangouts -- which enables more people to become familiar with the process of impromptu or scheduled online face-to-face meetings. That being said, there are still issues with market shifts that increase the volatility for vendors of enterprise products and services. According to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC ), there were mixed results in the third quarter of 2015 (3Q15) with overall videoconferencing equipment revenue increasing 0.8 percent quarter over quarter but declining -3.3 percent year over year. The total worldwide enterprise video equipment market revenue in 3Q15 was over $511 million -- that's up from $507 million in 2Q15. The total number of videoconferencing units sold in 3Q15 decreased both quarter...

Online collaboration, and videoconferencing in particular, has been a significant catalyst for business productivity during the last decade. However, the demand for expensive telepresence systems and traditional room-based videoconference installations has reached its pinnacle. Enterprise videoconferencing infrastructure and endpoint hardware revenues are forecast to be relatively flat through 2020 -- growing slightly at a 2.1 percent CAGR -- according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. Software solutions are becoming a more popular choice, with the ability to extend existing infrastructure and endpoints and lessen the need for installing new permanent hardware. "With the current market focus on cloud computing and hardware virtualization, dedicated hardware sales will see little growth in all video delivery markets, including videoconferencing and telepresence hardware,” said Eric Abbruzzese, research analyst at ABI Research . According to the ABI asse...

Will 2013 be the year that robots make their mark in mainstream society? The growing market for consumer robots has already reached $1.6 billion in 2012, which is dominated by the task and entertainment segments. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, it will grow to $6.5 billion in 2017 and will still be dominated by the same segments, with security and telepresence becoming more of a significant third segment. iRobot is still the main player, but more Asian-based companies are coming out with competing products and newer products like window-cleaning robots. "We are seeing more personal robot R&D from Western companies and more task robot development from Asian companies," said Philip Solis, research director at  ABI Research . That's an apparent reversal of past development trends. Application processors and the array of sensors used in smartphones and media tablets have achieved great economies of scale for components that consumer robotic...

Results from the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC) showed a strong fourth quarter of 2011 (4Q11), with videoconferencing revenue growing 19.0 percent quarter over quarter and 24.6 percent year over year to reach $807.9 million. Specifically, the single-codec telepresence segment of the market grew 38.7 percent year over year to $444.1 million and now accounts for 55.0 percent of the total market. For the full year 2011, total enterprise videoconferencing market revenue reached $2.7 billion -- that's an increase of 20.5 percent over the full year 2010. This compares favorably versus the 16.6 percent growth we saw in 2010 over 2009, further pointing to an accelerated adoption of video in the enterprise. "Growth has been spurred on by more well-defined video use cases among organizations across a range of vertical market segments, including healthcare, higher education, financial services, legal, law enforcement, manufacturing, and retail,...

Telepresence is video conferencing taken to the next level -- participants feel as if they are in the same room together. Despite the tough economic environment, sales of telepresence hardware, software and services grew to $567 million in 2009, according to the latest market study by ABI Research . Expanding the options for access to telepresence products and services is critical for maintaining strong market growth. Video conferencing products that are a step above talking-heads at reasonable price points allow companies to experience the benefits and incorporate them into their business processes. According to ABI's market assessment, other major trends and supplier contributions driving the market in 2010 and beyond include: - Saving on travel costs, particularly for companies experiencing supply chain expansion. - Suppliers targeting companies with legacy video teleconferencing systems and expanding telepresence system interoperability. - Telepresence enhanced with...

Progressive efforts from major companies like Cisco, Microsoft, and IBM to promote media-rich productivity tools are boosting the prospects for videoconferencing and telepresence solutions, according to the latest study by In-Stat. The driving factors behind increased adoption and use are technology, bandwidth, and convergence, the high-tech market research firm says. According to a recent In-Stat survey of U.S. businesses, the decision to use or not use video conferencing is no longer based on uncertainty over the quality of the experience among those who have tried it lately. Furthermore, cost alone does not seem to be a hindrance of adoption or use. "The shift to an IP environment that enables unified communications, presence, and mobile integration provides a technological environment where traditional video conferencing, as well as telepresence can become synergistic elements," says David Lemelin, In-Stat analyst. The research covers the U.S. market for video conferencin...

In-Stat and Wainhouse Research have combined their high-tech market research and data to create the first comprehensive unified communications products and services forecasts. As the worldwide supply chain for labor, goods, and services has been flattened, accelerated, and globally dispersed, companies of all types and sizes are acknowledging the competitive need to streamline the flow of knowledge and information worker expertise throughout the organization. Unified communications provide a framework for doing so. A unified communications system includes elements of presence, instant messaging, IP telephony, audio conferencing, web conferencing or data collaboration, unified messaging (a common message store for voicemail, email, and faxes), mobility, and/or video conferencing -- all accessible through a single client interface or within an embedded application interface. In-Stat and Wainhouse Research market study found the following: - Many of the largest vendor corporations in the ...

The 2006 image sensor market saw strong growth, due primarily to one application -- camera phones, according to the latest In-Stat market study. In 2006, image sensors for camera phones comprised over three-quarters of all image sensors shipped, the high-tech market research firm says. Fueled by camera phones, CMOS sensors dominated CCDs in units shipped in 2006. "CMOS also made inroads into digital still cameras and camcorders in 2006, two markets that traditionally have been dominated by CCDs," says Brian O'Rourke, In-Stat analyst. CCDs continued to dominate the point-and-shoot sweet spot of the camera market. However, the rapidly growing digital single lens reflex (DSLR) market has been transitioning to CMOS sensors, led by Canon, which exclusively uses its own CMOS sensors. I believe that continued advances with image sensor technology will cause the evolution of all digital photography and videography applications -- in particular, the mobility of Telepresence via wi...