BROOKLINE, Mass. -- Oct. 27, 2004 -- Global demand for IP-based video communications is an emerging market compelling service providers to upgrade their networks and improve their managed service offerings, according to a report on IP video network service providers released today by Wainhouse Research. According to the report, managed video services will be a profitable growth area in the next 2-4 years, with much of this business going to "smaller companies who are more nimble than the established carriers.
The need to provide IP-video capable wide area networks is accelerating rapidly due to significant communications product announcements by companies like Cisco, Microsoft, and Avaya, who are all adding IP video capabilities to their enterprise communication product portfolios, often coupled with video infrastructure and endpoints from leading video companies such as Polycom, TANDBERG, and RADVISION. Enterprises use video as an enabling technology to gain efficiencies in marketing, sales, and product development, and these users require network providers and service partners that can provide the infrastructure and management capabilities needed to make videoconferencing work reliabily, with high quality, and over wide deployments. According to the report, many enterprises will not find managing the infrastructure related to IP video to be a core competency and will contract out these services, thereby driving the demand for IP networks and conferencing managed services.
"A new breed of IP video network services provider is emerging, "states Dr. E. Brent Kelly, principal author of the report. "These providers understand the needs global organizations for hosting and management of video bridges and gateways, endpoint management, long distance toll by-pass, ad-hoc meetings, and web portals where customers can schedule and manage their own conferences."
Designed to provide vendor information to enterprise decision makers, the 147-page report, "From Bare Wires to Managed Services: IP Video Network Providers 2004 - 2005" describes IP video network characteristics including core network capabilities, last mile connectivity options, transport mechanisms, network redundancy and reliability measures, quality of service mechanisms, service level agreements, and global network footprint for 18 providers.. Also described are vendor ancillary service offerings such as reporting capabilities, call scheduling, equipment monitoring, bridging options, gateway calling, and gatekeeper functionality. The report includes pricing data for unlimited usage video service offerings and provides a convenient matrix to compare service plans from the different suppliers as well as a strategic overview and analysis section for each vendor.
Vendors covered in this report include AT&T, China Unicom, Equant, Global Crossing, Global VideoCom, GlowPoint, High Speed Video, Infonet, IVCi, Masergy, MCI, Network-I, Providea, Sprint, TeleSuite, VC-Net, Virtela, and V-SPAN.
Details, including an executive summary and table of contents, are available at http://www.wainhouse.com/reports.
Wainhouse Research is an independent market research firm that focuses on critical issues in rich media communications. The company conducts multi-client and custom research studies, provides strategy advice to vendors and end users, publishes a variety of reports, and delivers public and private seminars.
