MARKET REPORT Conferencing
“Video conferencing is definitely a growing market and we will only see it continue to increase but audio is still
very popular and widely used...” Simon Hughes, Conferencing Brand Manager, Trust Distribution
their customer, we can oer
‘Try before you buy’ on all
Konftel solutions so businesses
can see for themselves
the benets of replacing
applications like FaceTime,
we nd that once they’ve
seen the results there isn’t any
convincing needed.”
What is the next for
conferencing over the next
year?
“e battle between
conferencing platforms will
continue,” says Clive Petty at
KCOM.
“Articial intelligence will
inltrate conferencing more
extensively. For example,
virtual assistants will enable
us to identify suitable times
for meetings more eectively,
saving employees hours of
wasted time; and transcription
technology will start to play
a stronger role in meetings.
Aside from that, we’ll see an
increasing consideration for
how conferencing technologies
and huddle rooms are designed
and selected according to
current business requirements,
while considering the future
– including bandwidth and
network requirements.”
Je May at Konftel says the
customer demand for ever
easier use, universal, and multi
network connectivity will still
drive their development.
“From a vendor’s point
of view, watch out for our
increasing range of wireless
solutions and App development.
At Konftel we will oer
an amazingly competitive
portfolio for both the USB
huddle space and dedicated
videoconferencing endpoints
for bigger rooms. ey are
the biggest sectors of all and
so resellers need a brand that
oers the best in both. And we
will ensure that they are easy
to set-up and use so everyone
can collaborate like experts, not
novices.”
Simon Hughes at Trust
Distribution says with demand
for conference solutions
growing they’ll see further
development and an increase in
the products available.
“ere will be more
enhancements when it comes
to collaboration and app
integration, as well as increased
quality, functionality and
features. e technology and
product portfolio will continue
to grow with consumer demand
and requirements.”
ED SAYS…
There seems to be a simple equation here; you
won’t make as much money selling conferencing
units as you would by selling a larger, room sized
conferencing system. But you will sell a lot more.
It’s a buzzing market.
devices which deliver mobility
and exibility. e majority of
‘road warriors’ now carry one of
these products. e growth is
o the scale.”
It’s a ‘No’ from Simon
Hughes at Trust Distribution.
“Video conferencing is
denitely a growing market
and we will only see it continue
to increase but audio is still
very popular and widely used,
a meeting can’t take place
without good audio, video is
a complimentary feature to a
conference but not essential.
We also see conferencing
being used in dierent ways
across dierent age groups,
the younger generation may
have grown up using video
calls in their personal life so
it’s quite normal for them but
there are still many people in
the workplace that are more
comfortable leading a voice
conversation rather than a face
to face one.”
How do you convince a
small business to stop using
consumer grade applications
like FaceTime?
“It’s not about stopping
businesses from using consumer
grade applications; but rather
ensuring that the technology
they use is not preventing them
from scaling,” says Clive Petty
at KCOM.
“Cost is usually the
underlying factor in
determining what technology
a small business decides to use,
but a better understanding
of the benets of paying for
services, which often opens
up many more options for
productivity enhancing
features, could be benecial.
Investing usually oers access to
high-quality collaboration and
conferencing features in one
platform.”
“Don’t stop them but try
working with them,” says Simon
Hughes at Trust Distribution.
“By working with them,
FaceTime is more suited to one
on one personal chats not for
business meetings with multiple
people. A single microphone
and camera doesn’t oer the
quality or collaboration tools
that are widely available from
professional conferencing
equipment. At Trust
Distribution we will go out
on behalf of the dealer to
demonstrate appropriate kit to
32 | Comms Business Magazine | March 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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