Videoconferencing equipment vendors are feeling the impact of shifting market trends, according to new findings from Infonetics Research.
The Enterprise Telepresence and Video Conferencing Equipment report states that globally, enterprise video conferencing and telepresence revenue grew 11 percent sequentially to NZ$1.85 billion in 3Q14.
This, according to findings, reminds in line with the usual pickup in sales during the third quarter, but was flat on a year-over-year basis.
“Flat sales of videoconferencing equipment are masking several underlying market trends,” says Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networks and video, Infonetics Research.
“For room-based systems, preferences continue to shift away from high-priced telepresence systems to multipurpose room systems.
“For personal videoconferencing, hardware sales are peaking, and we’re witnessing a move from hardware to software.
“Overlaying all of this is the decline in infrastructure sales, which are taking a hit due to the rise of cloud multipoint conferencing unit services adoption.”
Closer to home, Asia Pacific is the top-performing region for videoconferencing equipment in 2014, due to demand from emerging economies, while revenue for dedicated systems is declining and growth in PBX-based systems is decelerating.
Videophones have been the fastest-growing segment of the hardware endpoint market, but even here growth is slowing down, with unit shipments flat on a year-over-year basis in 3Q14.