The Top 10 VoIP & Video Conferencing Developments of 2011

Video conferencing was a lot more interesting to watch in 2011 than was VoIP. It wasn't that nothing happened in VoIP during the year. It was just that a lot more happened in video conferencing. This was especially true in the SMB space. Early summer saw a slew of significant announcements from vendors and providers. These announcements figured prominently in the VoIP Evolution report "SMB Video Conferencing: Getting Beyond Clouds & Interoperability."

Cisco's Cloud TelePresence Move Complicates SMB Video Conferencing Choices

Cisco's recently introduced cloud TelePresence offering considerably complicates life for small to medium-size businesses (SMBs) shopping for video conferencing solutions. On one hand, it adds an impressive new option to the list of available products. On the other, it increases the number of questions companies must answer before making their purchasing decisions. In short, while the introduction broadens the range of choices for SMBs looking to use video conferencing on a regular basis, it also makes their decision-making process more difficult.

VoIP Evolution Report Dispels SMB Video Conferencing Hype

Serious excitement surrounds the SMB (small to medium-size business) video conferencing space these days. In June and July alone, no fewer than eight companies – 8x8, Blue Jeans Network, BroadSoft, InFocus, LifeSize, Polycom, Telesphere and Vidtel – announced new hardware, services, tie-ups or some combination thereof. All of the announcements represented significant investments of time, effort and resources. And together, they indicated a widespread optimism that the market is about to take off.

Even in pre-takeoff mode, though, the market has already spawned a hefty body of conventional wisdom. Most of it takes the form of ardent convictions surrounding clouds and interoperability. One of these is the belief that cloud solutions are the ideal way to meet almost every SMB video conferencing need. A related one is faith that providing interoperability is the surest route to success for cloud providers. A new VoIP Evolution report, SMB Video Conferencing: Getting Beyond Clouds & Interoperability, both explains why it's necessary to get beyond such conventional wisdom, and provides a method for doing so.

Will Consumers Ever Pay for Home Video Conferencing Products?

When Cisco announced that it was going to stop selling its ūmi "home telepresence" product to consumers, the reason seemed clear. Although ūmi offered a superb video conferencing experience, it was obviously too expensive for even the affluent households the networking vendor was targeting. But Cisco's real mistake wasn't wanting too much money for its product, it was wanting any money at all for it. In a market where competitors were giving away video communication applications as part of other consumer products, wanting to earn revenue selling a dedicated home video conferencing product was a recipe for frustration.

The Top 25 VoIP and Video Developments of 2010

After starting as the year of HD voice, 2010 ended as the year of video communication. Video in fact became so prominent that it earned a place in the title of this list. Announcements about new video communication products and services were so numerous they became routine. As the year progressed, it became clear that video conferencing/calling was no longer a luxury for the corporate and government elite, but was well on the way to becoming a commodity for the masses. Ordinary individuals will soon be making video calls with little more thought than they now give to picking up a telephone. Making that happen, however, will be a complex challenge for vendors and service providers.

A variety of other factors shaped voice and visual communication during the year. Chief among these were developments in mobile VoIP and video calling, along with an acceleration of the move to cloud-based voice services. Politics and the weather played unusually high-profile roles as well. So did the negative: Unlike last year, not all the important developments were advances – some were downright problematic. But even the negative developments had some constructive aspects. Skype of course figured prominently in many of the developments. So pervasive was the influence of the Internet VoIP pioneer that it seemed that the corporate slogan of "Skype Everywhere" applied to its appearances in headlines as well.

Skype, Cisco and the Race to the Video Conferencing Middle

The recent unconfirmed report that Cisco was interested in buying Skype got a lot of attention. Many analysts and pundits pronounced the idea a good one. They pontificated about how Skype service could complement Cisco products and services. Some focused on video communication as well as voice synergies. Few, however, mentioned the fundamental long-term threat Skype poses to Cisco's video conferencing business – and not just Skype, but any Internet-based video communication service. That threat will only grow as time passes. Acquiring Skype could help Cisco cope with the threat.

Cisco Tandberg Buy Raises Questions About SMB Video Conferencing

Big IP communication vendors have talked the SMB (small to medium-size business) talk for some time. Almost all have said at one time or another they want to bring big-company communication capabilities to small companies. Bringing video conferencing, formerly a high-end enterprise solution, to the low-end market is a perfect way to do so. Thus Cisco's announced acquisition of Tandberg would seem to be a case of walking the walk. Tandberg makes low-end video calling equipment costing a few thousands of dollars, in contrast to Cisco's telepresence systems going for hundreds of thousands. In theory, the move could make video conferencing a common tool SMB tool. But questions remain as to whether that will really happen.

Skype Adds Cisco SMB Interoperability

Skype business announcements are coming fast and furious these days. One big one was the introduction of Skype for Asterisk earlier this month. Others are the result of the introduction of Skype for SIP beta service in March. ShoreTel was the first to announce certification of its IP PBXes with that service earlier this month. SIPfoundry followed with certification of its sipXecs product about a week ago, and now Skype has added the biggest name yet: Cisco.