Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is becoming a hotspot for conferencing service providers (CSPs), says new analysis from Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert).

 

The research firms latest report, "Central and Eastern European Conferencing Services: A Market Insight," uncovers that the region is especially targeted because of its growing economy.

 

The area not only has wide geographical boundaries, but it also contains 28 percent of the world's population and 7.2 percent of the world's global purchasing power.

 

Opportunities for conferencing service providers are also on the rise as the region has improved their ICT infrastructures and increased the number of global companies—a direct target for conferencing providers who can effectively and efficiently connect their dispersed operations.

 

The increasing amount of investment and new operations being set up in the region also increases the demand for technology that supports collaboration and communications, like conference call services.

 

However despite these opportunities, Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Prarthana Somal notes that, "Although conferencing services is now widely recognized in Western Europe as vital tool for cutting travel costs, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and increasing business productivity, these services suffer from low customer awareness in CEE."

 

"This is due, in part, to the relatively inadequate investment in the telecommunication sector, lack of need for conferencing solutions and the absence of service providers willing to invest in promoting its capabilities," Somal explains.

 

To overcome this, there needs to be improvements made by CSPs for local language integration and more support and ease-of-use to increase uptake in conferencing services in the region, especially among small and medium sized companies.

 

Somal further advises, “CSPs can test conferencing services market water in the region by firstly through local partnerships and then enter the market by setting up regional offices in the country. They can also achieve better saleability by innovating and offering integrated services or new features over simple audio, video and web conferencing services.”