Videoconferencing: You Need An Enterprisewide Strategy

IP videoconferencing systems vendors all predict that videoconferencing is set to be a major growth area, driven by both green corporate agendas and the high-quality user experience of the latest "telepresence" systems. By contrast, end user firms show a lower level of enthusiasm, perhaps worried by the price tags on these top-end systems. Forrester's view is that telepresence will form only a small part of the market; the more powerful opportunity is to add video at all levels — from PCs to meeting rooms, presentation theaters, and board rooms. Enterprises need to plan carefully to integrate videoconferencing into their VoIP and unified communications strategies and to avoid buying expensive islands of videoconferencing for senior managers that cannot interoperate with simpler technologies across the business.