The high definition market has arrived

Touchline Video's Barry Cross says resellers should keep fighting for videoconferencing sales

We are saying goodbye to Standard Definition and soon the market will be totally High Definition (HD) as people no longer have to pay a huge premium for it.

Organisations are buying HD even before they have the infrastructure to support it, future-proofing their communication systems.

Bandwidth is getting cheaper too. Manufacturers are also reducing the amount of bandwidth needed to support HD, improving end-user experience and widening opportunities for videoconferencing.

The goal is converged solutions. Integration will be the big thing in 2009, with voice, video and data all streamlined through one central infrastructure.

As a result, we predict there will be a boom in networking, with organisations building integrated systems that can support room installations, desktop video, telephony, and IT over the same infrastructure.

There will be a massive increase in the sale of network items, such as gateways, bridges, gatekeepers and firewall traversal solutions, to support the increase in activity.

We are seeing increased implementation of desktop videoconferencing, using video every day for communications. Users no longer have to plan a call well in advance or use a dedicated room.

This has encouraged growth in the SME and homeworker markets, as well as enabling communications between branch networks.

On the other end of the spectrum, telepresence is also an area of sales growth in larger organisations.

As this market has developed, rigid structures have given way to more bespoke solutions. Customers can now get systems made to measure, rather than having to provide a dedicated room.

This presents added business for AV integrators, telephony service providers and IT infrastructure specialists. We expect this trend to continue in the coming year as customers look for cheaper alternatives to the big brands.

Our advice to resellers would be to keep on fighting. We encourage our resellers to get out there and market themselves even more vigorously.

Resellers could have more end-user seminars to stimulate interest. Engaging the end user through product demonstrations is important.

They should also be aligned with manufacturers and distributors that can provide demonstration equipment free of charge.

Videoconferencing solutions have evolved significantly and you need to put people in front of the technology and let them experience it if you want them to buy.

Resellers need proactive and positive marketing. We’d rather show people there are opportunities in a challenging market, instead of spreading doom and gloom.

Videoconferencing is even more relevant in the current climate, as it helps companies to maintain efficiency, reduce costs and lessen their impact on the environment.

The good thing is that we aren’t selling to a restricted audience and there has been a reduction in focus on vertical markets.

Previously specific industries were targeted, such as healthcare, education, finance, large multinationals, at the expense of the SME. Now, we are seeing every sort of company expressing interest in videoconferencing.

We’re not seeing any drop-off in the enterprise sector, but smaller businesses, including home-based workers, are becoming more open to videoconferencing products.

This year, we will sell more videoconferencing systems. Think differently, stay on your toes and show people what the technology can do.

Barry Cross is managing director at Touchline Video