The National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA) has made it easy for commercial integrators to come up with this New Years resolution: Get more involved in telepresence.

A recent Market Intelligence Briefing (MIB) report by NSCA predicts drastic increases in revenue opportunities for both audio-only teleconferencing and video telepresence systems installation. Among survey respondents, 59 percent say they are currently doing teleconferencing with 88 percent of that group saying they do video telepresence installations.

The audio-only side seems to have hit a ceiling. NSCA reports that only 10 percent of commercial dealers’ gross revenue in 2010 stemmed from audio-only teleconferencing. Meanwhile, less than half of dealers expect revenues from teleconferencing to grow over the next three years.

• Cost savings of video teleconferencing versus travel for face-to-face meetings
• Efficiency
• Increased demand for video during conference calls
• “Green” aspect of tele-meetings versus travel

It’s difficult to overstate the momentum that the telepresence category is gaining, according to John Zettel, CEO of AVI-SPL. Although AVI-SPL is a colossal integrator doing installations across many product categories, it’s fair to say that its core competency is teleconferencing and telepresence. It’s focusing hard on the two-way video size “and the services that go along with it,” Zettle tells CI.

“If you’re doing a public meeting room installation, the adoption of video in those rooms will increase dramatically over the next few years as it penetrates corporate America and that’s a big move in our industry. I see a race happening between niche video players and traditional pro A/V players as to you can capture that market; the advantage we have over the competition is that we touch more meeting rooms than anybody in the country.”

The opportunities aren’t limited to corporate America, although the NSCA’s report shows that corporate and industrial venues, including financial institutions, is the top market for telepresence followed by:

• Government
• Education
• Healthcare
• Hospitality (including convention centers)

“As integrators seek new opportunities to improve their revenue generating services, this report provides the evidence – including details on sales cycles and factors – necessary to successfully incorporate these technologies into their current business models,” says Chuck Wilson, NSCA executive director.

About the author

Tom LeBlanc - Editor-in-Chief, CI, Tom

Tom has been covering electronics integration since 2003. Prior to being named editor-in-chief of CI, he was senior writer and managing editor of CE Pro. Before that, he wrote for the sports department of the Boston Herald. Migrating to magazines, he was a staff editor for a golf publication and an outdoor sports publication. Follow him on Twitter @leblanctom.

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