Video Conferencing Systems to Emerge as Essential Unified Communication Tools for Remote Work

“Video conferencing continues to thrive as an efficient unified communication tool among businesses and people in general across the globe”

One of the key factors stimulating the growth of the video conferencing market is the acceleration of remote working as a pre-existing trend. Businesses worldwide are incorporating video conferencing devices into their tech stacks to save time and money.

As per an Owl Labs’ report, the work-from-home trend is saving employees around $6,000 per year. Also, the Coworker 2020 Future of Remote Work Report indicated that 50.8% of the employees surveyed believe cost savings to be a major benefit of remote work. Favorable prospects such as these are encouraging more employees to embrace web communication to economically conduct face-to-face meetings with co-workers and clients, thereby promoting collaboration.

Furthermore, this appreciable growth trajectory is expected to continue over the forthcoming years, driven by the rising awareness about the advantages of technologies such as ML and AI for video conferencing applications, among other myriad reasons. Global video conferencing industry size is projected to cross $75 billion by 2027, as per a Global Market Insights Inc. report.

Rise of virtual events in corporate sector

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, all businesses ranging from multi-national companies to local markets, which relied heavily on in-personal meetings witnessed considerable losses. However, recent trends in video communication technology have proven the industry’s resilience and adaptability. According to a GMI report, the corporate sector held nearly 60% of the video conferencing market share in 2020 in the U.K.

In 2020, the events industry pushed through the setbacks of the outbreak by rapidly pivoting to virtual events. Consequently, organizations and companies embraced the benefits of the technology within a matter of weeks. As per a GBTA study, there was a 290% hike in the adoption rate of virtual events in 2020 as compared to a year earlier, while 93% of the respondent companies conducted at least 1 virtual meeting in the year.

To successfully offset the uncertainty and challenges faced by corporates during the pandemic, government bodies in developing economies like India are also implementing guidelines to boost online meetings. For example, in December 2021, the Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs allowed companies to hold AGMs (annual general meetings) and EGMs (extraordinary general meetings) through video-based meetings till June 2022, thus strengthening the video conferencing industry outlook over the years ahead.

Technical preparedness to address remote learning and working in China

Multiple providers of end-to-end virtual reality solutions in Asian countries are rapidly expanding their product portfolio, as video teleconference is becoming an indispensable way of interpersonal communication. To cite an instance, China-based Kandao Technology released a 180° standalone video conference camera, Kandao Meeting S. This camera was upgraded with the Meeting AI 3.0. algorithm to enable real-time precise tracking and location of speakers.

Apart from the launch of technologically advanced systems, China is also anticipated to emerge as a lucrative revenue pocket for the video conferencing industry, on account of the rapid transition to online education. Over the past years, universities across the region have been improving their technical preparedness for online learning and smart classrooms. In the weeks leading up to the opening of Zhejiang University, for example, over 200 smart classrooms had been installed for teachers to shoot or live stream over 5,000 courses.

In addition, Chinese entertainment conglomerate Tencent unveiled its new offering in the video conferencing sector known as VooV Meeting in 2021, designed to cater to people working remotely from home amid the pandemic. Over a million users joined in one day, with a 41% share rate peak, thereby boosting the daily active users of the app to nearly 10 million in two months. As a result, the decisive response of the regional companies to COVID-19 through innovative product launch activities has made it a prominent region for the video conferencing market to grow exponentially.