"Videoconferencing can be the next wave in bridging the digital divide in India."

In India, customers do videoconferencing on two technology platforms: SD (standard definition) and HD (high definition). While SD has reached its maturity and is likely to see a decline in the coming years, HD is considered to be in the introduction stage but has tremendous potential for growth.

On growth drivers

Some of the key factors driving the Indian videoconferencing solutions market are: cost reduction benefit to users; savings in time; increased productivity of employees; quicker decision making; and ease of use; resulting in faster RoI of the investment made in VC setup.

On the evolution from video conferencing to high definition conferencing

As per industry reports, the adoption of pure IP-based endpoints to dual mode enabled endpoints has grown from a ratio of 10:90 to 40:60 over the years and is growing rapidly. HD systems have further fuelled the growth of videoconferencing systems on the whole, but on the contrary, are witnessing a slow adoption rate due to their high bandwidth requirements and relatively high cost of deployment. The adoption of HD to SD (standard definition) systems is at the ratio of 30:70 and this trend is slowly picking up.

On how videoconferencing can help in bridging the digital divide within India

Videoconferencing can be the next wave in bridging the digital divide in India. Just as the telecom sector has revolutionized the way people communicate, videoconferencing, if made available at a cheaper cost to customers, can usher in a totally new era of communication between the rural and urban centers; with video and voice. Telemedicine is a typical example of how this divide is being minimized. Tele-education, remote-site consultation, and lab-to-farm are some of the promising applications that can shrink the divide.

On how videoconferencing can help as a green technology

Many corporate houses are jumping onto the green revolution and are finding ways to become more socially responsible. Videoconferencing offers them a readymade solution to attain this goal by helping them reduce the environmental impact that travel and other indirect impacts of travel bring.

On plans in India

India being an emerging and growing market for videoconferencing business, Sony endeavors to consolidate its position in the local market by revamping its product portfolio, ramping up of channel network and better customer service.