Futuresource Video Conferencing

Despite industry optimism of a new-age of work and a video conferencing device in every room, 2023 was generally disappointing for most vendors. The new era failed to dawn, and a combination of economic sluggishness in the West, and an East which has largely returned to pre-COVID work patterns, has meant the surge has been delayed. While many organisations acknowledge that in theory they will have to invest in greater levels of collaboration technology, these purchases can, at present, be pushed back to a future in which there is stronger economic growth and more certainty around work patterns.

Futuresource’s 2024 decision-maker survey showed that AV and IT managers expect budgets to increase for all sizes of meeting room, with collaboration technology the major spending priority. However, these intentions are yet to manifest in a quiet market. Futuresource’s Hybrid Work survey revealed that there is little demand from end-users for more technology, either at home or at the office. For all the industry talk of meeting equity and the need for multi-camera rooms, most users who join meetings remotely are satisfied with current technology. Similarly, there is no grassroots fervour for one-touch Microsoft Teams Rooms (most users are happiest with Bring Your Own Device models of video conferencing); instead, hybrid workers are much more eager for policy changes at their employer, for example, the implementation of more flexible working hours