Web Conferencing Market is Recession-Proof: Report

In a bit of good news amid the challenging economic times, the Web conferencing software and services market is booming. Thanks to the growing demand by so called “borderless organizations,” the market is largely benefiting from businesses’ need to offer enhanced collaboration and reduce travel costs.

 

According to a new report by Frost & Sullivan, revenue in Asia-Pacific jumped 24.9 percent in 2008 is expected to grow 26.3 percent this year, totaling $123.1 million by yearend. What’s more, the growth of the sector, which includes hosted services/Software-as-a-Service and on-premise Web conferencing software, is expected to peak over the next two years, reaching growth rates of 27 percent in 2010 and 2011.

 

And industry officials said the overseas findings match Web conferencing trends in other regions.

 

“The growth in Web conferencing in the Asia-Pacific market is in line with that of other markets, including the U.S.,” Greg Plum (News - Alert), director of channel development for The Conference Group, a provider of Web conferencing services, told TMCnet. “I anticipate the trend to continue well in the next couple of years as the lagging economy struggles to rebound.”

 

The report, Asia-Pacific Web Conferencing Software and Services Market, found that the market earned $97.4 million in 2008. And by the end of 2014, it will reportedly reach $391.8 million, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 26.1 percent between 2009-2014.

 

“Rising concerns about communicable diseases and carbon footprints have encouraged not only multinational enterprises with offices in Asia, but also local companies, both small and large, to invest in Web conferencing,” Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) industry analyst Pranabesh Nath said in a statement. “On-premise software has a strong following in Japan, China and South Korea, while SaaS (News - Alert) solutions are favored in Australia, India and Southeast Asian nations.”

 

One feature that is increasingly becoming popular is integrating the desktop with video, or using a webcam, for users in markets like China, Japan and South Korea. Users in the Asia-Pacific region are integrating the tool with audio conferencing and video and mobile connectivity to enhance communication.

 

“Companies that deploy Web conferencing expect simplicity, reliability and ease-of-use as the most important features,” Nath said. “Recently, however, integration with audio conferencing, high-quality webcam-based video and mobile connectivity are becoming increasingly important in Asia-Pacific.”

 

Plum, whose company offers Web-based, on-demand audio, Web and video conferencing services, predicted a bright future ahead for conferencing industry.

 

“This new experience and knowledge base in the enterprise market will likely result in continued growth in these technologies even after the economy corrects itself,” Plum said. “Web and video conferencing will likely become a part of the “fabric” of a high percentage of these companies, resulting in continued and sustained demand for online collaboration tools.”

 

But in order for widespread adoption of Web conferencing services to occur, the technology needs to evolve to address the challenges of both large and small business users, Frost & Sullivan said.

 

One challenge is that awareness about the benefits of Web conferencing among potential customers is still lacking, the company said. To spur adoption, Web conferencing vendors need to seamlessly integrate telecom providers and other channels into their sales strategy, Frost & Sullivan said.

 

The Asia-Pacific Web Conferencing Software and Services Market study is part of the Conferencing & Collaboration Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in telepresence, video conferencing endpoints, video conferencing infrastructure, audio and video conferencing services, enterprise social networks and online shared workspaces.

 

To find out more about Plum and The Conference Group (News - Alert), visit the company at ITEXPO East 2010. To be held Jan. 20 to 22 in Miami, ITEXPO (News - Alert) is the world’s premier IP communications event. Plum will speak at 11 a.m. Jan. 20 on“The Future of Web Conferencing and Collaboration.” Don’t wait. Register now.