Fast Track

Video conferencing: an emerging need

Sunil Buch

Organisations are constantly looking for ways to reduce the expenditure incurred by staff travelling around the globe for meetings with clients, vendors, partners, suppliers and others. With broadband technologies making the Internet a viable option, Web conferencing is slowly gaining ground among corporates.

According to a study by Frost & Sullivan, in 2005 there’s been a significant increase in adoption Web conferencing in the enterprise market. Emerging businesses will increase the adoption of this service as prices of hardware and bandwidth fall, and awareness about the technology is spreads in the market. The Asia Pacific market for Web conferencing was worth $7.53 million in 2003. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 27.2 percent till 2010.

Speaking on the initiatives being taken by Reliance WebWorld, Sunil Buch, the company’s Head of Marketing said that video conferencing is not just for the corporate but has the ability to touch the lives of the common man. Buch give examples of how emerging businesses and large enterprises can save time and resources while recruiting employees and make a difference in the output of the organisation.

Counting the advantages of the technology, Buch pointed out that it reduces cost and time associated with travelling, coordinates communication, and utilises the ability of broadband for sending information. He also showcased how companies are using the technology for the launch of their products and carrying out campaigns.

According to analysts, the verticals that have been adopting the technology are IT and BPO.

—Shivani Shinde