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Is Video Conferencing Showing Signs of Recession Vulnerability?

Not from what the numbers tell us. Yesterday Polycom reported earnings and today, TANDBERG did the same.

I'm pleased to note today that there has been growth, significant growth in the video units of these two companies. Polycom grew video 16% year over year to $159.5 million in first quarter revenues. TANDBERG exceeded that performance with 39% year over year growth and revenues of $178.1 million.

You might recall that while Polycom focused its acquisition this past year on VoIP, and mobile VoIP in particular. Spectralink had 6 days to contribute to Polycom voice revenues in the first quarter last year. In contrast, TANDBERG focused its energies on bulking up in the video space with its acquisition of Codian. 

There aren't too many enterprise markets generating 39% and 16% growth these days. This kind of growth, in spite of the financial trouble in at least one of video conferencing's key segments – financial services – speaks to the confidence in the underlying advantages of the HD range of capabilities. I've written about these advantages and the confluence of the elements of the Perfect Storm.

Of course, past performance is no indicator of future success, yet the results show that despite the troubles of the past two or three quarters, there remains robust growth in video conferencing applications and technologies.