Though videoconferencing has been around since the late 1950s, Impact Marcom has claimed this pact is a first for the industry. Under the terms of the Global Presence Alliance (GPA), the two partners will initially focus on customers based in the US and Europe.

Expansion of international coverage would be the next phase, once this has been successfully mastered.

Both companies are to provide their systems integration skills, at each end, in an agreement that ensures clients receive the quality of service for which their service level agreements legislated.

Julian Phillips, Impact Marcom’s UK managing director, said that the move was in response to customer demand.

“Our clients in the UK and Europe increasingly demand the same level of service and support for their offices throughout the world.

“This is about promoting best practices in our industry and providing customers with unified service,” added Phillips.

Something like this had to be done to gain credibility because the market for videoconferencing is booming, said analyst Clive Longbottom, service director at Quocirca.

“The big challenge faced by today’s videoconferencing users is the uncertainty of moving away from discrete data lines,” he said.

“You might save thousands by going down the IP route, but you will not get the service you need unless you deal with known quantities.

“Customers are going to want the reassurance of a good service provider at each end to nail everything down,” added Longbottom.