Spend on video conferencing to hit $3.8bn

Global business spend on video conferencing is set to hit $3.8 billion (£2.3 billion) in 2016, recent research has shown.

The adoption of video and VoIP phones will be driven by businesses' desire to cut costs and improve productivity according to Ovum, the independent telecoms analyst.

Its latest forecast predicts that video conferencing will see annual growth of 5.79 per cent between 2011 and 2016, positioning it as one of the IT sector's fastest growing markets.

In particular, Ovum predicts that IP telephony solutions such as immersive video conferencing – high-quality video calling in specially built rooms – will show the fastest growth rate of nearly 20 per cent across the five years.

Large global businesses already looking to implement this type of VoIP hardware include HSBC, GlaxoSmithKline and News Corporation with many using VoIP phones to make international calls, saving money on business travel.

Richard Thurston, Ovum analyst and author of the report, commented: "Enterprises are seizing the huge opportunity that video conferencing offers them to cut costs and improve productivity by reducing business travel."