The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), has affected 33,502,430 people worldwide as on the 30th of September 2020 (4:28pm CEST), since the day the WHO has declared the disease as a global health emergency.
Situation Report for Coronavirus as on 30th of September 2020 (4:28pm CEST)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO)
This multi-dimensional calamity has caused social, physical, psychological, and economic distress all over the globe, and has entirely derailed a wide variety of industries, leaving organizations in a state where they are struggling to survive. Yet, a few others, such as the video conferencing industry, has observed a massive surge in the demand for video conferencing platforms, stimulated specifically as a result of the brave new world ushered in by COVID-19.
What Exactly Is Video Conferencing?
Video Conferencing is referred to the process of conducting a real-time two-way communication between a minimum of two users by using telecommunication technologies. Video conferencing transmits both audio and video during the process of communication. Video conferencing is used by several end users including corporate enterprises, government, healthcare, education and others.
According to our research, the global enterprise video conferencing market is anticipated to reach a value of USD 7.94 billion by the end of 2023 owing to the increasing adoption of video conferencing solutions across end user industries.
How is COVID-19 Driving the Demand for Video Conferencing Solutions?
Upon the outbreak of the global pandemic, several nations worldwide had adapted to nationwide lockdowns as a grim reality to avoid this unmanageable health adversity. Yet, to revive the nations from this dreadful outbreak, it was necessary for many end users, such as schools, colleges, and corporate firms, among others, to connect with their people to continue with their existing operations. As a result, these end users gradually adopted video conferencing solutions to continue with their communication, learning, and business.
Video conferencing has come up as an ultimate solution to communicate with remote workers, customers, and employees. The increasing necessity amongst corporations and enterprises to discover remote working solutions as a hefty portion of the staff are obligated to work remotely are some of the significant factors that is driving the demand for video conferencing solutions.
One of the major benefits of video conferencing is that it not only promotes the new normal of social distancing, but also facilitates the concept of “Work From Home” amongst end users, thereby preventing halts in the work flow and further helping to reduce the spread of the virus amongst people.
Video conferencing has also been widely adapted amongst government organizations. For instance, in the month of April 2020, the Supreme Court of India, directed all the district courts in the nation to shift to video proceedings to make sure that the court premises should not be the hub for the spread of the virus.
Apart from the use of video conferencing platforms for formal communication, there has been a significant demand for such platforms for informal communication amongst individuals, especially to hang out with people in real-time. To support this, many video conferencing platforms offered freemium services to individuals for personal use or has increased the limit for the total number of users that can be added into a video conference call. For instance, on the 15th of June 2020, WhatsApp Inc. announced that the company has increased the participants limit for group video and voice calls to eight in number from the earlier four numbers.
Recent Developments in Video Conferencing Solutions
Additionally, several organizations, both big and small, have developed new video conferencing platforms or have expanded their existing infrastructure to enhance the capability of handling greater loads. On the other hand, as the adoption of video conferencing platforms increased, the amount of web traffic also increased dramatically. As a result, several internet service providers have also adequately upscaled their services to meet the rising demand for video conferencing solutions without compromising with customer experiences.
Key Companies Offering Video Conferencing Solutions
Some of the major companies offering video conferencing solutions include Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Google LLC (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM), Zoho Corp. Pvt. Ltd., Lifesize, Inc., and others.
Several players operating in the IT industry have also utilized the global pandemic situation as an opportunity to expand their businesses. Few other players have also offered their services for free or at a nominal cost to the enterprises and government organizations.
Major Roadblocks for Video Conferencing Solutions and The Challenges Ahead
One of the major roadblocks for video conferencing solutions is for the lack of proper IT infrastructure in several low- and middle-income nations. As a result, there are instances where users experience poor internet connectivity along with issues for interruptions in between meetings or automatic disconnection of the ongoing meeting. These issues further hamper scheduled business processes leading to major business losses.
On the other hand, the concern for security and privacy issues with video conferencing solutions, which restricts users from sharing confidential information through video conferencing platforms, coupled with the fear of security breach or privacy threats from hackers and internet thefts are some of the major factors anticipated to restrict the demand for video conferencing platforms in the years to come.
For instance, one of the most popular video conferencing platforms from Zoom Video Communications, Inc., marketed as Zoom, has faced privacy and security backlash from its end users. Although, the company took strict actions by declaring a 90-day plan to proactively identify, address and enhance these threats, and further added support for AES 256-bit GCM encryption for enhanced security, which was declared in the month of April 2020. Also, during May 2020, the company acquired Keybase, which is a secure messaging and file-sharing service, as part of the strategy to enhance its security.
The Future Outlook
The demand for video conferencing platforms is anticipated to reach new heights, even after the pandemic ends. The new normal of communicating and connecting has made people tech-oriented and has enabled end users across different industries to achieve their tasks in a more efficient manner. For instance, by not limiting to just human capital management solutions and by using video conferencing solutions, employers have found out a new way to hire candidates. Teachers, on the other hand, have learnt to implement new ways to make online sessions more interacting by the use of smart classroom technologies. Additionally, with the upcoming culture of “Work From Anywhere (WFA)”organizations are anticipated to experience a new way of conducting meetings. WFA allows employees with greater work flexibility and allows the employee to work from any geographic location. As a result, employee contribution towards work is mostly anticipated to be driven by video conferencing solutions for work collaboration. Additionally, the increasing adoption of teleconsultation and telemedicine in the healthcare industry, coupled with the use of AI and ML algorithms are further anticipated to drive the need for video conferencing solutions amongst the end users.
On the other hand, owing to the numerous benefits of video conferencing solutions, such as decreased travel costs, availability of video conferencing statistics and analytical tools that can analyze engagement metrices during meetings, coupled with the advancements in the security of these platforms are further anticipated to drive the adoption of video conferencing solutions.
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Research Nester is a market research company that provides research analysis and information on different markets and industries. We conduct a detailed research based on the requirements of the client and ensure the formation of a proper strategy for the business. Our in-depth analysis of the video conferencing market allows an easy understanding of the future prospects of the industry and presents various opportunities for anyone interested in investing or starting a business in this industry.
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