Video conferencing suited to recession, firm claims

Written by Jessie Richards

The ongoing economic crisis is causing video conferencing to become more popular, an IT analyst has claimed.

According to Frost & Sullivan, businesses are looking to reduce their travel expenses while still being able to quickly and effectively connect with workers and clients.

However, the group claimed that this is balanced companies decreasing their investment capital and a lack of seamless interoperability in the technology, which ma highlight the need for IT services.

Iwona Petruczynik, research analyst at Frost & Sullivan, predicted that mature markets such as the UK, France and Germany are likely to experience a strong demand for audio and web conferencing.

She explained: "The market is expanding strongly with growth dictated by the increasing need to connect with a dispersed workforce at a time of rising oil prices and financial turmoil."

Recently, the Frost & Sullivan 2009 Corporate Use of Social Networking report found that 54 per cent of workers use 2.0 technologies for professional reasons such as project collaboration and connecting with colleagues.