(COMTEX) B: Videoconferencing Riding the Road to Multimedia Communica
B: Videoconferencing Riding the Road to Multimedia Communications According to
New Market Study
TEMPE, ARIZ. (Oct. 13) BUSINESS WIRE -Oct. 13, 1998--Forward Concepts
today announced availability of its newest market research report,
"Teleconferencing Markets and Strategies: The Road to Multimedia
Communications." The report, which is the firm's fourth annual
teleconferencing study, is an in-depth analysis of the computer and
communications technologies impacting the videoconferencing industry
and the product directions being taken by desktop, group, and
stand-alone system vendors. The study concludes the market is being
shaped by four broad factors: price, performance, pipelines, and
utility. The study also concludes that videoconferencing by itself is a
strong market, but that wide-scale acceptance in the corporate world is
tied to a more comprehensive view of multimedia communications--the
integration of one-way and two-way, real-time and non-real-time
communications across LAN and WAN networks.
The report notes that many businesses today do not see
videoconferencing as a "must have" capability; nor have consumers
embraced the technology, despite plummeting prices and improved ease of
use. Based on end-user and vendor surveys, the study predicts that the
worldwide videoconferencing equipment industry will grow at an annual
rate of over 25% to over $2.7 billion by the year 2002 and that this
growth will be spurred by integrated solutions for conferencing,
collaboration, caching, and broadcast streaming. The analysis in the
report presents a whole new segmentation of the videoconferencing
market, following a series of product and technology developments that
have made obsolete previously defined categories.
The 1998 study segments the overall market into three major equipment
categories: personal and desktop systems, group systems, and networking
infrastructure components.
Desktop videoconferencing systems are products intended for personal
use. The category includes PC-based and non-PC-based systems as well as
videophones and other appliances that run across different H.320,
H.323, and H.324 networks. The desktop is further divided into consumer
and business segments. The study concludes that virtually all ISDN
codecs will soon support multiple protocols, and that LAN-only desktop
products will grow at a 138% rate and overtake ISDN products by the
year 2001.
Group videoconferencing systems (conference rooms and rollabouts) now
occur in a variety of form factors, including compact systems, set-top
boxes, rollabouts, and conference room systems. The group market is
experiencing simultaneous growth and turmoil while at the same time it
is embracing LAN technologies and protocols. The Forward Concepts study
forecasts that the market for large room systems, small group systems,
and ATM-based systems will grow from $785 million in 1998 to $1,107
million in 2002, but that the small group market will experience a very
healthy 48.8% growth rate.
Network components are increasingly important products that perform
multipoint control, network-to network gateway connectivity, and
gatekeeper bandwidth management functions. This multimedia network
market is poised for strong growth as the videoconferencing industry
shifts its focus to IP networks. The 1998 study forecasts network gear
to grow at a 40.6% annual rate to $395 million in 2002, with ISDN MCUs
being the largest segment, but IP MCUs and gatekeepers having the
highest growth rates.
The report also discusses the impact of the Internet and emerging
broadband communications technologies on videoconferencing. Within
three years, Forward Concepts expects a growing portion of the consumer
market to be using two-way cable modems over HFC or xDSL modems over
twisted pair copper as an IP videoconferencing pipeline.
Forward Concepts is considered the premiere market research firm
specializing in markets driven by digital signal processing (DSP)
technology, and is also considered the top authority on
videoconferencing markets and trends.
"Teleconferencing Markets and Strategies: The Road to Multimedia
Communications" is available immediately. The 450-page report with over
200 figures and 60 tables is $3,295 ($3,395 international) for the
first copy and $500 ($550 international) for subsequent copies.
A brochure is available from Forward Concepts, 1575 W. University Dr.
#111, Tempe, AZ 85281, Tel: 602-968-3759, Fax: 602-968-7145, e-mail:
dvc@fwdconcepts.com. Further details are available on-line at the
company's web site: fwdconcepts.com.
-0- HK/na*
CONTACT: Forward Concepts, Tempe
Will Strauss, 602/968-3759
wis@fwdconcepts.com
or
Forward Concepts Europe, Dusseldorf, Germany
Cornelius Kellerhoff, +49/211-467-998
niels@fwdconcepts.com
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INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED PUBLISHING
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