The majority of organisations still consider video as a useful, but non-essential, part of day-to-day working life.
So says Selvin Kristnen, MD at Avaya SA, who notes that if video is ever to become the preferred method of business communication, the problems businesses have in implementing it, and the opportunities they can seize once it has been installed correctly, must be considered more vigorously.
"Video has long been touted as the new voice," says Kristnen. "There is no doubt that it is a high-growth market, but will the simplicity of other modes of communication, such as voice and instant messaging, prevent its true potential ever being fully realised?"
According to Kristnen, when one considers that video is really voice communications enhanced with pictures, there is no reason why video conferencing and video-driven collaboration should not move from a 'nice-to-have' to a mainstream business tool.
He explains that this is especially true when one considers the ROI and business benefits that can be realised.
A recent study by the Aberdeen Group, looking at remote and collaborative product development, found that the time needed to bring products to market was reduced by 16% through video collaboration.
Kristnen says this is an impressive benefit in an R&D setting and an indication of the type of competitive advantage and time savings that can be achieved in more common day-to-day working practices.
He also notes that a reduction in travel expenditure has been at the forefront of video vendors' marketing efforts over the last decade and this benefit still holds true.
"Yet, if William Glasser's theory remains true - that people remember 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, and about 50% of what they see and hear - it is clear that businesses can also benefit from video by boosting employee teamwork and productivity on an everyday basis."
However, Kristnen says, before businesses can fully realise these benefits, they must first deliver the same levels of ubiquitous access and reliability for video that end-users expect from voice.
"James J 'Jim' Horning, an American computer scientist, said: 'Nothing is as simple as we hope it will be.' Yet, what could be simpler than picking up the phone? If video is to gain a loyal following in enterprise communications, the user experience must be just as simple and hassle-free."
He also says the consumerisation of IT in the enterprise environment has largely been driven by this need for simplicity. "It is one reason why BYOD is gaining such ground. People want the ease of the iPad, the iPhone or an Android device to help them do their jobs quickly and efficiently. They want simplicity of use, but without any limits on functionality."
The key to such simple usability, he explains, is to keep the complexity hidden. Interoperability and open standards, such as Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), are critical to the implementation of a robust, future-proofed video strategy, he notes.
"As convergence continues between voice over IP and video, SIP will allow organisations to realise the benefits of out-of-the box integration and interoperability across traditionally disparate devices and systems. SIP can help deliver an increased level of personalisation to video communication and ensure it can be easily integrated with other communications tools."
The inherent value of video solutions can be further increased as employees start to leverage video-enabled devices, like iPads, from a variety of vendors, Kristnen notes. Thanks to SIP, they will be able to integrate and collaborate on these newer video devices without having to step out of their company's existing video set-up, be it room-based or desktop: different access methods will all work together, he adds.
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