Top 15 Video Conferencing Companies in the World, 2020

Video conference solution is a medium for visual communications between two or more people who can connect over the internet. As it involves communication in real time, cloud integration plays a huge role. Through video-conferencing software, several people can connect from any place in the world on a physical device that is connected to the internet. To sum up a video-conferencing session, it involves the use of cameras (mostly webcams) and mics at both the ends and this data is transferred over a dedicated channel or server. There are several free versions as well as paid software in the market including Zoho Meeting, Skype, and Zoom. The rising use of smartphones and laptops along with growing internet penetration across the world, have been pivotal to the large scale use of these products. With low-cost cloud platforms and open-source networks, there are countless video-conference solution providers in the market. Fortune Business Insights lists top 20 companies in the video conferencing market, along with a few of their latest innovations.

Coronavirus Outbreak:  Crisis may Fade Away but it will Have a ‘Long-lasting’ Impact on Video Conferencing Use

As we close in on the sixth month of the Covid-19 pandemic, economy predictions have begun to pour in. With ‘Project Restart’ initiated in numerous countries across the world, businesses are breathing a sigh of relief. Although we might not even be close to containing the virus, the ‘precautionary’ approach to things might well be the new normal, for the second half of the year. The initial phases of lockdown were a few of the obvious reasons behind the global economic downfall.

With more people now accepting and abiding by the strict guidelines set by governments across the world, many businesses have been allowed to resume. Although outdoor businesses as well as manufacturing units have only found ways to recover in the past few days, the IT sector seamlessly got through it all. Majority of the work in corporate offices is evidently carried out on personal computers/ laptops through video meetings; offices are, in fact, a space for collaborations and discussions.

The relentless technological advances in the past two decades and the idea of ‘interconnected’ networks continue to provide answers in difficult times and it hasn’t been any different in the pandemic. In the early stages of the outbreak, IT companies were the first to implement the ‘Work from Home’ policies and it is seen that communication over internet services has been pivotal to almost all businesses. As a result, such communication channels and software services have witnessed a huge surge in demand in the past months. Among all services, video-conferencing applications have established themselves as the most widely used solutions for all modes of communications, be it scheduled meetings, group discussions, presentations, or feedback.

Here are Fortune Business Insights’ top picks for the leading video conferencing companies that are currently operating across the globe:

A video conferencing unit is assembled through several hardware and software components. Concepts such as cloud, applications, and OS resemble the software part, whereas physical components such as cameras, mics, and drives contribute to the hardware part. To establish a clear differentiation, we have categorized these Video Conferencing companies into hardware and software below:

Software:

Zoom Video Communications :

With major as well as small businesses enforcing WFH policies for their employees, US based ‘Zoom’ is making headlines across the world. Although it was relatively unknown to many, the company has seen a surge in downloads not just in the United States, but in almost every major country. In just 6 months, the company has garnered close to double the revenue in the first half of 2020, than in the whole of 2019. With rising popularity, the company has been approached by leading businesses for collaborations and advertisements.

Cisco Systems, Inc.: 

Mostly known for its security cloud services, Cisco’s video conferencing solutions are the best in class. With secure conferencing platforms and services, the company is a leading hardware as well as software service provider. Based on several major acquisitions in recent years, including the takeover of ‘CloudCherry’ and ‘Voicea’ in 2019, Cisco has established itself as a powerhouse in the video type of conferencing space.

Microsoft Inc.:

With a massive cloud interface and major applications such as ‘Skype for Business’ and ‘Skype for Personal Use,’ Microsoft is arguably the most popular company across the globe. The company surpassed a remarkable 40 million daily active users for Skype in March. With staggering numbers, Microsoft teams look set to ward-off any sort of competition with ease.

Blue Jeans Network:

In May 2020, Verizon released a statement about the acquisition of ‘BlueJeans’ for a mammoth $400 million. The company had previously expressed its interest after several statements indicating the potential in BlueJeans’ video conferencing platform. The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the several pivoting factors that encouraged Verizon towards making this decision. With an annual recurring revenue of over 130$ million, the company is currently deemed as the closest competitor to Zoom Video Communications.

Lifesize Inc.:

The largest conundrum in video calls is the quality of picture and video. Although camera resolution could have a huge say in this, the network also plays a major part as video size is compressed on most of the networks. Lifesize is one of the first companies to provide 4K video conferencing on numerous platforms including Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. Lifesize platform ensures the quality of data sent is the same as the quality of data received.

Google LLC:

The company is on the front pages, yet again, and this time it has graced us with a new video conference call solution ‘Google Meet’. Just like all of its products, the company has managed to slip in another feature that its counterparts haven’t successfully implemented. The company claims that Meet’s AI-modelled concept and predictive learning algorithm will help cancel out unwanted background noise in real-time. Yep!, you read that right… Google Meet will suppress the sound of your dog barking, the loud compressor in your AC, and the loud wind noises in the background.

Premiere Global Services Inc.:

PGI is well-versed in cloud voice and UCaaS concepts, in addition to other streaming services and online meetings. The company’s UcaaS or Unified Communication as a Service provides an enterprise grade platform for cloud-enabled interconnected systems for all employees in an organization. The product certainly offers high operating efficacies over previous versions and has the potential to cumulate substantial revenue in the coming years.

LogMeIn, Inc.:

Although this company won’t necessarily be at the top half of our lists anytime soon, it certainly is too good not to be in this list. With a $1.2 billion revenue in 2019, the company’s strong growth is pivoted by its attractive cloud-based video conferencing software.

Hardware:

Dell Technologies, Inc.:

Although this may come as a surprise to many, just like its services in other sectors, Dell’s video conferencing solutions are a force to reckon with. The company possesses an exceptional range of hardware solutions that are integral to video conferencing networks. With a revenue of $92 billion in the year 2019, Dell is one of the largest companies across the globe. The company has become a mainstay in the list of top Video Conferencing companies in this network. Dell’s $2.5 billion acquisition of ‘Pivotal Software’ is an indication of rapid growth in the coming years.

Logitech, Inc.:

The company is well-known for its high-resolution external as well as integrated web-cams. Evidently, a webcam is an integral part of video-conferencing software. The company is likely to generate revenues in estimates of $2.98 billion in the financial year 2019-2020. With major collaborations in the IT sector, Logitech is one of the leading hardware companies in the video-conferencing market.

Avaya, Inc.:

The company boasts an impressive portfolio with a few attractive variants of USB cameras. Recently, the company announced its plans to aid the numerous educational institutes by providing low-cost services and free plans to monitor and connect with students and other personnel. Besides this, Avaya released a statement expressing support to non-profit organizations during the coronavirus outbreak. The company will provide its online video and voice conferencing for public outreach, training, and constant status updates across the world.

Plantronics, Inc. (Poly):

Poly’s hardware solutions cater to video conferencing over Zoom rooms. Not that this is only integrated with Zoom; it can surely be used for other platforms, but the mobile devices are calibrated for seamless operations in Zoom rooms. It is evident that Zoom’s recent progress has caught the attention of several major companies in this market across the world.

Dolby Laboratories:

Dolby’s video conferencing solutions have been in limelight for ages. But with the recent surge in use, the company was quick to announce its latest product ‘Voice Huddle’. This product calibrates based on the room space and enhances audio quality without the need for external speakers. Dolby’s audio devices have always been popular and with a well-established consumer base, the company will be a huge hit in the video-conferencing sector as well.

RingCentral, Inc.:

This company has a clear motto: empower today’s ‘mobile workforce’ through optimum cloud based services. And to be honest, this has worked very well. Moreover, RingCentral’s recent collaboration tool with Fujitsu has helped gain a formidable stand on the global frontier. The company’s strong brand image is powered by its unparalleled cloud-based video-conferencing services and numerous integrated desktop as well as mobile apps

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.:

The company recorded a revenue of $122.97 billion in 2019; a figure that is much higher than the previous year; barring the challenges it has faced in the United States. Although we will not be getting into that in this article, the company has brushed aside its challenges with a list of several new video conferencing solutions in recent years.

With the recent surge in video meetings, several companies have identified the massive potential in this sector. As analysts are foreseeing a promising growth in the immediate future, Top Video Conferencing companies such as Zoom, Microsoft, and Logitech will be heavily engaged. The video-conferencing solutions have certainly enabled seamless business operations during the Covid-19 pandemic. As several leading IT companies have expressed their intentions for permanent WFH operations for those units who can afford to do so, the global video conferencing market is set to rise at a considerably high rate in the coming years.

To know more about the global video conferencing market, click here:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/video-conferencing-market-100293 

Author’s Bio:

Tanay Bhalla is a part of the very talented content team at Fortune Business Insights™. He is a highly-driven writer with extensive experience in market research. Tanay specializes in blogs, articles and press releases. His approach to writing is simple, intended to ensure a seamless read.