India Has Highest video conferencing Infra Mkt Growth Rate

The Asia Pacific video conferencing infrastructure markets posted a remarkable growth rate of 27.1 percent in 2010 despite tough economic conditions, largely due to the impressive showing by Greater China. While this region accounted for 62.3 percent, or US$96.8 million of the total US$154.8 million revenue, it is India that has the highest growth rate at 39.6 percent. By 2017, Greater China’s revenue share is expected to decrease to 51.4 percent, while India’s will increase to 11.8 percent.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Asia Pacific Video Conferencing Infrastructure Markets, finds that the market earned revenues of US$154.8 million in 2010 and estimates this to reach US$491.2 million in 2017. In this research, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine the following products: multipoint control unit (MCU)/gateway and others (gatekeepers, management and scheduling tools, network address translations (NATs), firewall traversals, border and security elements, and other related devices). It covers the regions of Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Greater China, India, Japan, and South Korea.

"Total solutions, including telepresence, desktop video, executive systems, and room-based video conferencing systems for multi-party video calls via different devices, will help vendors gain a competitive edge,” said Frost & Sullivan Senior Industry Analyst Jessie Yu. "In some countries such as China, integration with audio-visual (AV) peripherals is also important to attract customers."

Large enterprises comprise the bulk of revenue streams in the market, but the contributions from SMEs are steadily rising. These market drivers notwithstanding, intense competition and ‘solution-oriented’ offerings of video conferencing products (endpoint and infrastructure) caused a dramatic decline in the price points of high-definition (HD) MCU in 2010, especially in Greater China, Japan, and India.

The lower price points can be offset to a large extent by the rise in the popularity of IP networks and the escalating number of video conferencing endpoints.

"A steady demand for MCUs is expected to be the main market driver; however, auxiliary systems such as management software and gateways will also need upgrading if enterprises wish to fully utilise their investment in HD video endpoints," noted Yu. "Further, globalisation and a growing demand for inter-company video will fuel the adoption of videoconferencing infrastructure, giving vendors an opportunity to improve their revenue shares."