Count on a sizzling videoconferencing segment in 2012

If 2011 was a good year for videoconferencing (and it was), the forecast for 2012 is even more upbeat, especially as businesses look to continue trimming travel costs and to improve productivity. Bandwidth management, interoperability, reliability and quality will continue to be key issues for enterprise customers, and they will have to be overcome before the technology truly reaches universal adoption.

But, more vendors are seeing interoperability as a selling point for customers and are working to make it happen. The November coming out party for the Open Visual Communications Consortium is a solid starting point. Enterprises, as well as SMBs, continue to see videoconferencing as a tool that will help them leverage business assets.  in a real-time and collaborative business environment, and you can expect them to join the OVCC bandwagon en masse.

The cloud, including virtual desktop infrastructure, also is becoming more ubiquitous, making SaaS videoconferencing more appealing.

As we saw last year, new technology is driving videoconferencing costs, and consequently prices, down. The increasing adoption of tablets and the expansion of the mobile workforce also are driving adoption. And, we can expect that the transition from hardware-based teleconferencing rooms to mobile videoconferencing will accelerate as innovation continues. The introduction of apps for Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iOS and Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android-based tablets and smartphones, as well as the introduction of low-cost videoconferencing platforms from telepresence stalwarts like Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Polycom (Nasdaq: PLCM), show just how widespread the demand for the technology has become.

That same consumerization is likely to cause a hiccup or two in IT departments that will have to deal with the burgeoning reality of the BYOD trend. Employees increasingly will want to use their familiar iPhones or iPads, for example, to access videoconferences hosted on corporate networks and will expect the same functionality their desktop stations have.

Videoconferencing not on your agenda for 2012? It should be.--Jim