Sustaining Competitive Advantage with
Enterprise Video
A whitepaper by Frost & Sullivan in collaboration with SingTel Corp.
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Introduction
NEW BUSINESS MODELS AND THE ERA OF COLLABORATIVE ENTERPRISES
Enterprises today are moving from a silo structure in the
way they operate their business to integrating their core
competencies with their communication infrastructure, to
focus on fulfilling customer need.
In order to do this, it is crucial to integrate all channels of
communications – both within and without the organization,
and in the process creating a better and more collaborative
work environment.
Market liberalization, social and political changes,
security threats, resource shortages and climate change
are the global trends affecting companies across the
world today. To cope with these changes, various
organizations have invested heavily in information and
communication technologies (ICT) over the years.
Businesses in Asia Pacific are expanding their
geographical reach and this has resulted in an increase
in remote locations and employees. There is a strong
need to empower these offices and users with the tools
they require to communicate and collaborate at a
reasonable cost.
The cloud computing business model has emerged as a
game changer and is affecting all aspects of the
enterprise. Enterprises see the move to cloud as a way
to create business efficiencies, lower overhead expenses
and streamline the workplace. Service Providers are
keenly participating in this market segment since they
have technology expertise and indebt knowledge which
would be invaluable to customers. Enterprise
communications has become richer, more collaborative
and increasingly moving towards the cloud.
EVOLVING AND UNIFYING COMMUNICATIONS
Most organizations use voice and email solutions as
the bedrock of their communication needs, and these
applications are expected to remain the primary form
of external and internal contact.
Over the past few years, technology has advanced
rapidly and communication applications have
continued to evolve. New and cost-effective
communications products and services have been
rolled out in the market place.
Source: Frost & Sullivan
Market Drivers
Consumer-ization of IT
Growing adoption of Cloud and Mobility
Collaboration apps,
including video
Centralization of IT
Infrastructure
Green/ Power Savings
Factors driving evolution of
enterprise communications
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Increasing complexity of IT infrastructure
Scalability
Lack of business agility
in a post-PC world
Rising upfront and
maintenance costs
Complex integration
Interoperability issues
Rise of Cloud and Managed Services
Increasing number of organizations are seriously considering hosted or managed
communications services. Key benefits include operational efficiencies, standardization
and faster implementation.
Source: Frost & Sullivan
Managed and hosted services enable a company’s
personnel and financial resources to focus on core
business concerns and allow the company to pay only
for those services it requires.
Managed or hosted service providers also assume
responsibility for setting up, monitoring and maintaining
the communication infrastructure, streamlining and
offering a wide variety of other advantages. The
managed service provider handles all technical aspects
relating to systems integration and interoperability of IT
assets. This provides organizations with greater options
for advancing strategic IT initiatives, by eliminating
many of the day-to-day operational tasks that often
consume available technology resources.
End user studies conducted by Frost & Sullivan show
the high adoption of visual communications products for
managed and cloud service. It is in this important aspect
of driving increased usage of visual communications
products that hosted and managed services have an
important role to play.
Challenges in a multi-vendor and
on-premise environment
The market for unified communications (UC) – as – service is expected to grow to $7.53 billion in 6 years, almost 3
times its current size of $2.78 billion in the Asia Pacific region, and this includes both discrete applications such as
hosted email or voice, as well as integrated solutions such as unified clients that combine voice, email, and rich
multimedia applications such as social media or video collaboration. It also includes professional services.
$2.38 Bn $2.78 Bn
$7.53 Bn
2010 2011 2017
APAC UC Services Market Projection, Source: Frost & Sullivan Compound Annual Growth Rate (2011-2017): 18.1%
Analysis
Both discrete and integrated communications
application services are relevant and useful, depending
on the unique business environment of each
organization. Smaller organizations may be better suited
to adopt a complete packaged unified communications
service that includes both basic and advanced
applications.
At the same time, mid to large organizations may find
both integrated and discrete applications such as
enterprise video very useful to their enterprise. Many
UC services typically also provide the option of either a
simple maintenance contract, or a turn-key end-to-end
managed service depending on customer need.
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Video Collaboration Comes of Age
• Proprietary codecs
• Analog networks
• Technically oriented
• Standard definition
• Difficult to use
Video solutions 5 years ago
• Fully interoperable
• IP based
• Easy to use interface
• High Definition
• Immersive experience
Video solutions available today
important, collaboration across networks, across different platforms, in a seamless and secure manner is where the
true value is. It is the ability to not only bring employees together but bring external customers and partners within an
organization’s ecosystem together as well, that is becoming a competitive advantage for enterprises.
Video collaboration solutions have witnessed a newfound resurgence in popularity in the last three to four years that
has set the growth level at 15 to 30 per cent year-on-year in the region, depending on the country and type of
solutions deployed. This is partly due to the large variety of endpoints available, but also due to their maturity.
Ability of enterprises to interact
with their partners and customers,
outside of their own network, in a
secure and reliable way leads to
better business results by
speeding time-to-market,
improving product and service
quality and opening new business
opportunities.
While having employees within an
organization connect with each
other, regardless of location, is
Software Solutions For mobile and
desktop connectivity
Executive Systems
Hardware based solutions for executives
Room Solutions For daily project
meetings for groups
Immersive Telepresence Virtual & immersive meeting experience
Spectrum of Video Solutions Available
Source: Frost & Sullivan
Source: Frost & Sullivan
New video solutions available today are witnessing booming demand; the Asia Pacific
market for Video Collaboration was worth $568 Million, with a growth of 25% year over year.
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Vertical Specific Applications of Video
Besides cross industry benefits such as cost benefits and improved collaboration, video
is increasingly being used in vertical specific applications to improve return on
investment.
Banking
•Video banking
•Insurance claims
•Customer care
•Trading & investment
Healthcare
•Tele-consultation
•Social care
•Patient movement
•Tele- diagnosis
Education
•Distance learning
•Exeucitve eduation
•Virtual field trips
•Disabled education services
After deploying video solutions either as an on-premise solution or a hosted/ managed service, the most common
applications are general in nature – such as general meetings, sales discussions, training and others. Now
vendors and service providers have introduced video collaboration solutions that are specific to a particular
industry, such as in healthcare or manufacturing.
For example, high-definition (HD) videoconferencing can help healthcare providers increase their level of patient
care, control costs, address staffing shortages, and serve rural patients. Technologies like videoconferencing and
immersive telepresence are used by educational institutions for countless applications - alumni enrolment,
interactive distance learning classes, music and art performances, remote access to subject matter expertise, and
research and professional development.
Examples of video application by industry
Source: Frost & Sullivan
The usage of video in vertical specific applications is expected to accelerate in the next 3-5 years as more
organizations realize the tremendous value video can bring by being integrated into the business processes of a
company. This combined with the integrated nature of video to other unified communications applications
signifies a major paradigm change in how success businesses of the future will communicate and collaborate.
Video communications can help Banks to improve their customer’s service experience. Today video
conferencing can be tailored to the Banking industry through the provision of video kiosks in branches where
physical staff may not always be available. Expert staff can be located at a central point whether they are in Mumbai or Atlanta, and customers can have access to face-to-face consultation via video from their local
branches as and when they need it. This way customer can still gain access to local consultation anytime and in
local language.
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Key Factors to Evaluate End to End Managed
Service
Hosted or Cloud Based
Service
Self Managed
Simple, Flexible and Scalable (Ease of Use & High
Quality Experience) Medium High Low
Performance High High Medium
Reliability High High Medium
Maintenance and Support High Low Medium
Integration with Customers Existing Infrastructure Medium Medium High
Control & Ownership Medium Low High
Cost-Effectiveness Medium High Medium
Deployment options
Enterprises have a variety of deployment options for video applications.
Many enterprises are looking at deploying a part or the whole of their infrastructure in a utility model to take
advantages of features such as scalability and operational cost control as discussed previously. To this end, there
are three major options for organizations:
• End to End Managed Service: This service engages a professional IT company with expertise and
domain knowledge. (The solution may reside on-premise, which is at the customer location but
equipment is either owned or leased). Service involves end to end management, covering design,
consulting, implementation, maintenance and support.
• Hosted or Cloud Based Service: A third-party service provider, which could be a telecom operator,
would offer hosted cloud based service on a utility-based model.
• Self Managed: This refers to a company both buying and managing its own infrastructure. The
company’s IT team is also responsible for the implementation and day-to-day management.
Deployment Options
Source: Frost & Sullivan
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Choosing the right service provider
Choosing the right service provider can be critical for organizations as they look to grow
their business through investment in new business models.
Enterprises are consistently looking to do more with less and as the economy continues to remain tepid, they are
finding themselves in a position to make tough decisions in their effort to cut costs without compromising on the
quality of service. This arrangement frees the company from having to hire staff with expertise in multiple
technologies and invest in ongoing training.
Telecom service providers are key market participants in offering both technology and services in video
conferencing (VC). Regional Service Providers (RSP), such as SingTel are actively addressing this market
segment. They have begun to focus in offering higher value added services, with Managed Video as a possible
option. SingTel is well positioned with the appropriate capabilities and strengths to be a crucial market player in
providing this solution due to the strength of its core network and Asia Pacific-wide presence.
Businesses are taking a serious look at managed IT solutions in particularly for Video and UC. This enables them
to focus on core business goals and removes the hassle of managing the technology. Customers also require the
solution to be scalable, flexible, offering maximum up-time, high quality and easy to use. SingTel Video Exchange
(SVE) is a managed video service which meets these requirements. Furthermore, the solution can be quickly
deployed across a company network with soft client that permits integration of HD Room base video and unified
communications.
SingTel strategy to offer both managed and hosted VC services is a right step forward as it offers customers the
choice in level of engagement for investing in the services model for communications. Organizations should
partner with experienced and well established service providers which have the knowledge and understanding of
customer challenges. SVE ability to proactively monitor video call quality and manage customers’ video
conferencing end-points including software upgrades are a couple of unique features that Singtel can provide.
Source: Frost & Sullivan
SINGTEL INITIATIVES
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Conclusion & Key Takeaways
Rising competition in the global economy, increasing mobile workforce, need for
collaboration across dispersed workplaces are strong drivers for implementing hosted
and managed video and unified communications.
With competition becoming
global, fast and efficient
communications are increasing
vital in ensuring business
competitiveness and reducing
response time to customers,
partners and potential business
opportunities.
To this end, enterprises need to consider the following points:
Enterprises will need to embed communications into business processes in order to unlock productivity
and efficiency.
Video conferencing solutions provide the opportunity to accomplish this and ensure that key business
processes are more stable and reliable.
Perhaps the most important reason for enterprises to be more collaborative: it provides for an enterprise
that is integrated both vertically and horizontally in order to focus intensely on a single goal – customer
service and satisfaction.
However, key challenges still remain. Interoperability still remains a hindrance to adoption in the case of on-
premise deployments. Costs of maintenance and repair are substantial and large portion of IT resources are
devoted to simply maintaining day-to-day operations. This is where solutions provided by services providers help
enterprises to bridge the gap between IT resource limits and every day demands of critical business processes.
Source: Frost & Sullivan
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ABOUT FROST & SULLIVAN
SingTel is Asia's leading communications group with operations and investments
around the world. Serving both the corporate and consumer markets, it is committed
to bringing the best global communications solutions to customers in the Asia Pacific
and beyond. With significant operations in Singapore and Australia (through wholly-
owned subsidiary SingTel Optus), the Group provides a comprehensive portfolio of
services that includes voice and data solutions over fixed, wireless and Internet
platforms, as well as infocomm technology and pay TV.
The Group has presence in Asia and Africa with 434 million mobile customers in 25
countries, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and
Thailand. To serve the needs of multi-national corporations, SingTel also has a
network of offices in 20 countries and territories throughout Asia Pacific, Europe and
the United States. These offices enable SingTel to deliver reliable and quality network
solutions to its customers, either on its own or jointly with local partners. SingTel
employs more than 23,000 people worldwide and had a turnover of S$18.07 billion
(US$13.60 billion) and net profit after tax of S$3.82 billion (US$2.88 billion) for the
year ended 31 March 2011. More information can be found @ http://www.singtel.com
and http://www.optus.com.au
ABOUT SINGTEL
Disclaimer: This market insight was sponsored by Singtel Corporation. All views expresses in
this market insight are the professional opinion of Frost & Sullivan and do not necessarily reflect
the views of Singtel. Whilst every reasonable effort has been taken to verify the accuracy of the
information by Frost & Sullivan, neither Frost & Sullivan nor Singtel can accept any responsibility
or liability for reliance by any person and/or company on this market insight or any information,
opinions or conclusions set out in this market insight.