Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • IT Management
    • Networking
    • Small Business

    Web-Conferencing Providers Need More Comprehensive Offerings to Retain Busisness: Report

    By
    Nathan Eddy
    -
    March 10, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      A report from AMI-Partners found U.S. small businesses (SBs, or firms with less than 100 employees) are increasingly adopting Unified Communications (video and Web conferencing solutions), utilizing various free offers available on the market. According to the report, more than 25 percent of U.S. SBs would deploy Unified Communications integrated with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings as paid services, if available from a single provider. AMI researchers cautioned bundling preference proposes a challenge to premium cloud computing, video- and web-conferencing providers to compete with many free solutions providers and build a more comprehensive menu of services.

      The trend was on display in January, when Salesforce.com acquired Dimdim for $31 million in cash. A cloud computing firm known for its popular customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, Salesforce.com announced it intends to follow the “Facebook model” combining real-time collaboration and communication into a single integrated service. Dimdim, a free and low-cost web-conferencing platform for real-time, rich-media collaboration and meetings, provides Salesforce.com the solution set for its customers to share desktops, show slides, collaborate, chat, talk and broadcast via Web cam.

      “This acquisition represents a developing trend in cloud computing: build a comprehensive solution to prevent revenue erosion,” said Brian Galgay, manager of AMI’s cloud services group. “Whereas some players are competing in a race to the bottom, offering free or nearly free services, Salesforce.com integrates conferencing into its existing solution and, with this acquisition, can now sell deeper into its large CRM base. U.S. SBs view video- and web-conferencing as an effective, real-time collaboration tool, and are relying more and more on it for daily business use.”

      Meanwhile, also in January, the Internet telephony and video-conferencing provider Skype expanded its services. The report noted that by removing the beta label from its “Group Video Calling,” Skype created a broader definition of its video-conferencing solution than it had previously offered. No longer limited to free one-to-one video communications, Skype’s SB customers with Web cams can engage with parties of three or more, paying a monthly subscription fee.

      In that same week Skype also acquired Qik, a mostly consumer-focused provider of mobile video software and services that lets users capture, store and instantly share video from anywhere. Qik is available on specific camera-enabled mobile devices on most networks, including Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and Vodafone.

      “The concept and expectations of premium video- and web-conferencing solutions have continued to evolve in the past few years,” Galgay added. “For subscription-based models to succeed in the long-term, these providers need to regularly benchmark competitors, especially against free providers, invest in competitive opportunities and offer a broader, more robust solution. I do not see that trend changing anytime soon.”

      He said Salesforce.com’s move into Web-conferencing with Dimdim should prompt a reaction by other firms to include additional services. Similarly, Skype’s expanding set of video-conferencing features not only opens B2B opportunities, but also deepens its stronghold in the consumer space.

      Both Salesforce.com and Skype are now competing for a more advanced business customer segment that was once reserved for more enterprise-focused solutions like LiveMeeting, WebEx and GoToMeeting. SBs’ expectations are increasing, and premium service providers need to adapt their services. “Otherwise,” said Galgay, “they face the threat of losing customers to free service providers.”

      Avatar
      Nathan Eddy
      A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Nathan was perviously the editor of gaming industry newsletter FierceGameBiz and has written for various consumer and tech publications including Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, CRN, and The Times of London. Currently based in Berlin, he released his first documentary film, The Absent Column, in 2013.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×