The European conferencing services market is undergoing significant transformation in terms of its composition according to analysis from Frost & Sullivan.
In 2013, audio conferencing accounted for 66 percent of revenue in this market, with web and video conferencing accounted for the remainder.
By 2019, audio conferencing is expected to account for just over 51 percent of the market, while web conferencing will claim more than a quarter of the market.
Video conferencing - especially hosted solutions - is anticipated to register a double-digit compound annual growth rate within 2013-2019.
Frost & Sullivan finds that the market generated revenues of $1.78 billion in 2013, and estimates this will reach $2.58 billion in 2019. The study covers audio, hosted web, hosted video and managed video conferencing services.
Improvements to the user interfaces of conferencing solutions and the ability to connect via mobile devices are sustaining market development. The increasing recognition of the business benefits of high-quality conferencing and collaboration solutions is also driving the European market forward.
"Robust conferencing software caters to two key trends in the modern workplace; more collaborative work environments and the need to work remotely with ease," said Frost & Sullivan Information & Communication Technologies Senior Research Analyst, Vaishno Devi Srinivasan.
"Since conferencing solutions are well aligned to the latest developments in the working environment, service providers in this space are likely to taste considerable success over the forecast period."
The low cost of conferencing solutions is a particular attraction for end users in the European market, which is still recovering from the recent economic downturn. Unfortunately, the declining price points affect conferencing service providers' revenues. To add to market woes, pure conferencing service providers are losing market share to service providers offering unified communications (UC) bundles that include conferencing features.
"The ability to provide UC and integration services is key to attract customers in the European conferencing services market," noted Srinivasan. "In the next 2-3 years, conferencing service providers' integration capabilities will be put to test as services become part of broader UC platforms. Service providers would do well to align their product strategies with their integration capabilities."
Additionally, market participants across Europe must demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) that is attainable with conferencing solutions to win and renew contracts with customers. Although hard-dollar ROI carries more weight, market participants should also highlight the softer benefits of conferencing solutions to the workplace.