New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, EMEA Conferencing Services Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $1.9 billion in 2014 and estimates this to reach $2.6 billion by 2019.
The study covers audio, hosted Web, hosted video and managed video conferencing services. The communications service providers that have a sizable presence across these segments in EMEA are Arkadin, BT Conferencing, Deutsche Telekom, InterCall, Interoute, Orange Business, PGi and Telefonica.
"Hosted/cloud video conferencing services that enable interoperability across endpoints appeal to a broader user base in EMEA owing to the rise in complexity and number of devices on networks," said Frost & Sullivan Digital Transformation Practice Research Director Adrian Drozd.
"Feature-rich solutions that support mobility and the bring-your-own-device trend are also popular among customers in these regions."
Conferencing services are central to the collaboration strategy of any enterprise and there is a growing preference among users for integrated solutions, instead of standalone products, to support communication architecture and services.
In response, vendors in EMEA are increasingly looking to package complementary collaboration services such as webcasts, team workspaces with other unified communication applications like telephony, voice mail, instant messaging and presence.
Among the various market segments, audio conferencing services are experiencing low growth due to price compression and user migration to bundled packages. The gradual transition to IP-based conferencing, owing to the proliferation of IP PBX, is also dampening the need for audio conferencing services in EMEA.
"As the lines between video-centric and content-centric web conferencing solutions that include video continue to blur, the revenues of both segments will take a hit," noted Frost & Sullivan Digital Transformation Practice Senior Director Ashwin Iyer.
"Higher sales volumes of IP-based audio conferencing solutions as well as hosted and managed video conferencing services will, nevertheless, promote revenue growth in the market."
Market penetration is the highest in the United Kingdom, France, Benelux and the Nordic countries due to increasing business-to-business and business-to-customer collaboration.
Over the forecast period, Northern Europe is likely to see more demand for hosted video conferencing services, while Southern Europe experiences greater interest in managed video conferencing services.