Video conferencing has taken on a brand new meaning in the age of the coronavirus as it has extended beyond corporate meetings and became a way for people to socialize during lockdowns. Quickly, video conferencing has been one of the most competitive sectors of the technology industry.
“We may have accelerated five to seven years’ worth of adoption behavior,” said Wayne Kurtzman, research director for social and collaboration at IDC. “Everyone was forced to do a seven-year plan in two weeks.”
Of all the video conferencing tools to exist, Zoom emerged as the clear frontrunner, but other resources such as Microsoft Teams and Cisco’s Webex have also grown in usage.
Facebook entered the market with its own service Messenger Rooms that is marketed as a consumer tool, but could be used by small businesses who cannot afford more expensive resources.
According to research from Global Market Insights, as of 2019, the video conferencing market was worth $14 million and is expected to grow to $50 billion by 2026.
But this has not come without some controversy. Zoom dealt with numerous security issues at the beginning of the pandemic, where people were able to hack into meetings and share crude imagery.
