WebRTC, the new standard that enables more economic video conferencing tools, cloud based systems, mobile video conferencing, and new monitoring software are the four pivots that are now driving the changes in video conferencing
Like any fast-growing industry, video conferencing changes quickly. So, how to stay on the winning side? We have detected four main trends in video conferencing vendors (period:2015 –2017) that could reshape the sector in the near future.
WebRTC has become an accepted technology for video conferencing, after IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) has required browsers to implement VP8 and H.264 Video Codecs. WebRTC is a new standard that provides video and audio conferencing for web browsers and shows great real-time-collaboration capabilities because of its simple APIs.
Being WebRTC more economic than the traditional solutions, it could change the way many businesses approach the market. Appear.in is an example of provider of a WebRTC-based video conferencing product.
Cloud based systems have outperformed room based video conferencing.
Enterprises have been showing a clear preference for cloud based solutions, as they are much cheaper and faster-scalable than the cumbersome old video conferencing servers. Another advantage of cloud is that maintenance and installation is performed remotely by vendors. Only server-based solutions like R-HUB`s TurboMeeting (http://www.rhubcom.com), which are able to merger in one the advantages of both cloud and servers, will be able to survive on the market in the long terms.
Mobile devices want to have access to video conferencing.
Yet the number of people that access video conferences through PC screens is still very high, an increasing amount of users ask to conference in through their tablets and mobiles. This new trend is strictly connected to the growing of the number of freelancers: they are much more willing to work out of the office hours, in order to exploit downtimes (for example, while waiting the bus). It is also common for freelancers to be in need to communicate with their customers during unusual times or when they are travelling. This explains the growing demands for mobile friendly video-conferencing solutions.
New products to monitor the status of a video conferencing system are in high demand.
This comes as an obvious consequence of the three above-mentioned trends: IT staffs need a way to check in real time if there are problems and issues from remote, and eventually solve them. Therefore, there are new opportunities for UC-specific specialists to develop and market new products for remote support. An example of a company that has recently entered this market segment is Nectare Service Corp.
How will these trends affect the market? On one side, customers will be requested to invest more in LAN and wireless upgrades, mobile device management, data plans and security. On the other side, resellers could be driven to make new partnerships and adopt a policy of end-to-end sales of single vendor solutions for simplicity. That these trends will make the market change quickly comes by itself.