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In Europe, the Middle East and Asia, sales of video conferencing equipment are expected to grow 18.5 percent this year, according to projections from IDC (News - Alert) Research.

In 2011, EMEA video conferencing equipment sales grew over 20 percent to $809.5 million. Sales for video infrastructure equipment including MCUs, gateways, video network servers and other appliances grew 26.3 percent last year to $210.7 million.

“Given the trending of an increasingly distributed workforce within a globally interdependent economy, the business case for video conferencing has never been clearer,” said Melissa Fremeijer, senior research analyst, EMEA Unified Communications (News - Alert) and Collaboration.

IDC predicts that the majority of growth will occur in the lower tier of video conferencing solutions, like small workgroups, desktops and mobile. Companies will also be drawn to the increased proliferation of Video-as-a-Service cloud solutions.

The bulk of EMEA video conferencing equipment revenue comes from Western Europe, with nearly 90 percent of purchases originating in that area. To meet increasing European demand for HD video conferencing products, Panasonic (News - Alert) recently launched a new company called Panasonic Systems Communications Company Europe (PSCEU).

“Panasonic products have always helped make our customers’ working lives better,” said Masaki Arizono, managing director of PSCEU. “With our new organization, we also make our customers’ lives simpler and can add more value through services and solutions. No other company in Europe has such a capability in our market.”

Panasonic’s HD video conferencing solutions, for instance, will play a crucial role in helping organizers stage and plan the London Olympics and Paralympics.

“While the key driver for investing in video conferencing has initially been the need to reduce travel costs, we find that increasingly companies are interested in the benefits of enhanced team collaboration and effectiveness of meetings,” said Fremeijer.

With HD video conferencing, businesses can communicate with customers and suppliers from any part of the globe. Additionally, many companies conduct recruiting interviews via HD video conferencing. In-house product training and sales team product launches are just some of the events that can be covered with HD video conferencing.

Want to learn more about video? Then be sure to attend the Video World Conference & Expo, collocated with ITEXPO West 2012 taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. The Video World Conference & Expo highlights the latest strategies and technologies available to executives who are serious about leveraging emerging video communications capabilities to build competitive advantage. By bringing together the industry’s most innovative video technology vendors with end-users who are pioneering the use of video in the corporate environment, the Video World Conference & Expo mirrors a burgeoning market -- no longer just a corporate novelty -- with a growing appetite for learning the best practices in implementing video to make business communications more engaging and effective. For more information on registering for the Video World Conference & Expo click here.

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