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U.S. Audio Conferencing Services MarketsPublished by: Frost & Sullivan Published: Jan. 2, 2004 Table of Contents1 | U.S. AUDIO CONFERENCING SERVICES MARKETS Analysis of the Changing Dynamics in the Audio Conferencing Industry 1. Powerpoint Presentation List Of Figures Primary Market Challenges Ranked in Order of Impact (U.S.), 2004 to 2010 Secondary Market Challenges Ranked in Order of Impact (U.S.), 2004 to 2010 Primary Market Drivers Ranked in Order of Impact (U.S.), 2004 to 2010 Secondary Market Drivers Ranked in Order of Impact (U.S.), 2004 to 2010 Primary Market Restraints Ranked in Order of Impact (U.S.), 2004 to 2010 Secondary Market Restraints Ranked in Order of Impact (U.S.), 2004 to 2010 AbstractCommoditization Leads to Downward Spiraling of PricesThe ongoing migration to reservation-less audio conferencing services in the United States is leading to a state of rapid commoditization in the industry. Since reservation-less conferencing necessitates fewer "touch points" between clients and vendors, there is limited scope for vendors to differentiate their offerings on the basis of services. Additionally, the majority of reservation-less offerings have similar features, many times making the branded entry greeting the primary distinguishing feature among the various offerings. Commoditization leads to increased erosion of price points in most instances. Commoditization - in an industry already plagued by high price sensitivity and low customer loyalty - encourages end users to seek the lowest priced reservation-less solution, ultimately leading to further declines in price. This strategic analysis is part of Frost & Sullivan's continued coverage of the conferencing and collaboration market. Within this analysis, Frost & Sullivan has identified industry challenges as well as market drivers and restraints, apart from describing the competitive landscape and providing current and forecast pricing, revenues by conference type, and key market trends. End-user analysis and strategic recommendations for vendors within the U.S. audio conferencing services markets are also included. Based on extensive primary and secondary research, this analysis provides conferencing vendors with a detailed look at the current dynamics in this rapidly evolving competitive landscape. Migration Spurs Call Volumes and Minute Utilization Priced less than operator-assisted conferences, reservation-less audio conferencing provides end users with an easy-to-use, inexpensive solution for multi-point audio communications. These characteristics, together with the "zero" set-up time associated with these services, has encouraged end users to rapidly migrate to this industry segment over the last four years. While this migration has increased the level of commoditization throughout the industry, it has also served to dramatically boost call volumes and minute utilization amongst enterprises. Increasing IP Coverage to Stimulate Usage For several years, the concept of IP audio conferencing has generated a lot of debate and skepticism among service providers, hardware vendors, and end users. Many of the debates surrounding the transition to IP are on issues of Quality of Service, scalability, compatibility with existing infrastructure and channel partners, vendor and end-user benefits, and most importantly, timing. It appears that actual case studies are likely to be available for evaluation as vendors build on their IP infrastructure and prepare to launch IP service offerings in 2004.
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