Obama, Economy to Impact IP Communications

Over the course of several weeks at the tail end of 2008, I conducted a series of interviews with industry leaders, asking them a number of questions regarding the macro economy as well as the potential impact a new administration might have on the communications industry.

The executives I interviewed all shared a positive, yet realistically cautious outlook on 2009. With the uncertain nature of the economy and limited visibility deep into the coming year they nevertheless maintain a positive point of view, driven in part by the Obama administration’s stated goals of pursuing a more prevalent “green policy” than previous administrations.

For example, Teliris’ CEO Marc Trachtenberg (News - Alert) believes that interest in telepresence technology is increasing as companies struggle to reduce expenses in these challenging economic times.

When asked about the current economy and what that means for technologies like telepresence and for his company’s business specifically, Trachtenberg replied, “…[companies] are looking to not only survive these economic times, but also to grow their business. Telepresence (News - Alert) gives them the tools to accomplish these objectives. It’s interesting that in recent months, Teliris has seen a 30 percent increase in both usage and participants for its current customers. Additionally, we have also experienced an increase in inquiries as companies quickly realize that they must find long-term avenues to accomplish their goals and still reduce expenses.”

Polycom (News - Alert)’s Chalan Aras, the vice president of marketing for the company’s Voice Communications Solutions division also sees an uptick in interest in and adoption of collaboration tools.

Says Aras, “Due to what many are calling a “perfect storm,” consisting of technology, business, and socio-economic drivers, there has been significant momentum for the adoption of key collaboration technologies that are tailored to the way people want to work, enhance overall productivity, and help to improve/streamline communications. For example, we’ve seen increased uptake of both our visual communication solutions and HD Voice offerings in the past 12 months.

For companies like Polycom and Teliris (News - Alert), the changing of the guard in Washington, D.C. portends positive change insomuch as the incoming Obama administration has stated its desire to speed up the greening of both the public and private sector, and the collaboration technologies that these companies provide will likely be in high demand.

According to Trachtenberg, “the new administration promises new programs to incent businesses to reduce their carbon emissions. Telepresence is positioned to help companies achieve this worthwhile goal while also reducing expenses.”

Aras too believes that by committing to modernizing communication infrastructure, encouraging more rapid broadband deployment, and supporting green initiatives, the new administration will stimulate the adoption of communication solutions designed to enhance collaboration, improve efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions.

“In particular,” he says, “we see potential for visual communication solutions like telepresence to change how government agencies operate, making them more efficient, effective and environmentally friendly. The attention to healthcare costs will compel the administration to encourage improved operating efficiencies in medical facilities and the like. There are successful examples supporting this today with video arraignment in courtrooms, distance learning in classrooms, mobility solutions and telemedicine in hospitals, and increased teleworking among geographically dispersed federal employees. The policies of the new administration may encourage broader use of these efficiency-enhancing tools in government.”

Jeff Cavins, President and CEO of CallWave (News - Alert) believes the greening of America will impact the business environment in the U.S. in a way that companies pushing Web-based collaboration tools will be in a position to benefit.

“Telecommuting will certainly be a big part of the push toward reaching energy efficiency and sustainability, and all businesses will be asked to do their part. That said, the communications industry, and IP communications in particular, will have to effectively handle rapidly growing communication demands and increased use,” said Cavins. “President-Elect Obama has already stated that he is a supporter of mobile and remote workers; this further emphasizes the need for mobile conferencing and collaboration solutions that can be put in place quickly with reasonable cost.”

However, Danny Windham, CEO of Digium (News - Alert), struck a more sober tone with regard to his view of what the incoming administration might mean to telecom.

“I suspect in the first couple of years the administration will be preoccupied with bigger issues such as the ailing economy and the war in Iraq,” Windham said, “and that little will be done that will directly impact the communications industry. However, with the growing sentiment in Washington that government involvement is necessary to maintain regulation in the free market system, I fear that the policy pendulum will swing too far to the side of regulation — possibly impacting past decisions regarding deregulation of our industry and protection of Internet-based service offerings.”

Windham is intrigued by the opportunities that the coming year may bring, as enterprises come to grips with the financial situation and begin to move ahead — ever so cautiously — to make the purchases they need to remain competitive.

“In the short term purchasing patterns are frozen — mostly out of fear for what may happen in the future,” Windham said. “As the uncertainty wanes and the economy begins to recover, a new economic conservatism will drive buying behavior. Organizations will be forced to do more with less — and will become more receptive to lower cost ways of doing business. Premium branded offerings will suffer in the process.”

» Internet Telephony Magazine Table of Contents