Productivity and efficiency reasons, not environmental concerns, are the main impetus behind SMBs upgrading to video conferencing for meetings, Telstra Business research has found.
The survey of 321 businesses coincides with a move from Telstra to roll-out a new business package featuring video conferencing capabilities over their network.
Nearly half of businesses said that, given the opportunity of affordable pricing for videoconferencing, they would consider making the switch. Only about a quarter (28 percent) of them cited “going green” as a drive for taking up video conferencing, with “saving time” (61 percent) and “money” (43 percent) as the main reasons given instead.
Nearly 90 percent of businesses that regularly have meetings with suppliers and clients said they’d rather manage those meetings face-to-face than via email or over the phone.
“Historically, video conferencing has been a solution for very large companies only, as the cost and implementation overheads have been too high for smaller businesses,” Telstra Business Group managing director Will Irving said.
Telstra said its Business Video Connect packages are a “simple and cost-effective” solution for small businesses keen to increase their communication and productivity.
Each bundle provides the business with a complete Video Conferencing setup – including cabling, cart, built-in audio, and Telstra support.
Businesses are given the options of single-screen, double-screen or desktop bundle, and can purchase the hardware up-front or pay rent starting at $235 per month on a three-year term.
Analysts, Frost & Sullivan, are tipping the Australian video conferencing market will more than triple by 2017, growing at almost 20 percent a year.
