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The impact of globalisation, fears of terrorism, and growing concerns about the impact of CO2 emissions have fuelled interest in, and demand for, conferencing services.
According to Iwona Petruczynik, Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst: "Rapid growth since the end of the Soviet era and accession to the European Union has resulted in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region offering exciting new growth opportunities – both for local service providers as well as for global specialist firms". However, the countries of the CEE region present their own rich set of opportunities and challenges, and the complexities of each individual market must be weighed carefully against the investment potential and the overall impact of the global recession. Indeed, the demand for conferencing services in CEE is increasing, and, if investment can be sustained in the face of the global recession, then the region has the potential of becoming a major market in the near future.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (conferencing.frost.com), Central and Eastern European Conferencing Services Market, finds that the market generated revenues of $21.67 million in 2008 and estimates this to skyrocket to $217.84 million in 2014.
"The CEE conferencing services market faces many opportunities and challenges," notes Petruczynik. "The differences in the infrastructure development, technology adoption and potential client bases are becoming more pronounced from country to country. However, the globalised economy and an increase in foreign direct investments (FDI) will likely counter these challenges, and the growth rates of the conferencing market in the region will accelerate."
While the CEE countries represent significant growth opportunities for conferencing service providers, aspirations will be tempered by the knowledge that substantial investments in market education will be needed before conference volumes start to rise significantly. The low awareness of conferencing services among larger enterprises and Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the region will delay rapid expansion.
Service providers willing and able to treat the CEE as a long term investment are poised to make strong gains. Additionally, conferencing services technologies that are based on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) face the most challenges because of the relatively poor communication infrastructure in the region.
"Despite this, there has been strong progress in improving the communications infrastructure vital for conferencing in the larger cities of the CEE region, ensuring that the services will become better and more widely available to customers," states Petruczynik. "On the other hand, businesspeople in this particular region are apprehensive about using more advanced conferencing technologies, as they prefer traditional face-to-face meetings, or basic audio conferences."
With the global financial crisis, however, companies are more likely to look for alternative ways of conducting business, since reducing travel costs and improving productivity is becoming a greater priority.
Increasing awareness of the benefits of conferencing services should be the main priority of service providers wanting to target the CEE region. Cost reduction, though viewed as the main motive for adopting new technologies in conferencing services, is only one of the many benefits on offer. Enhanced productivity, time savings, and the ability to hold a meeting from anywhere are some of other advantages that conferencing services offer.
"However, the key to successful implementation of conferencing services in the CEE is the localised support system," remarks Petruczynik. "The CEE region has an array of languages and cultures, and one language (English in the majority of cases) will not be effective here, as many employees in smaller companies have a limited knowledge of foreign languages."
If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users and other industry participants with an overview of the CEE conferencing services market, then send an email to Joanna Lewandowska, Corporate Communications, at joanna.lewandowska[.]frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, and contact details. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by email.
Central and Eastern European Conferencing Services Market is part of the Conferencing & Collaboration Growth Partnership Service Programme, which also includes research in the following markets: web conferencing, audio conferencing, video conferencing, telepresence, unified communications and collaboration market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.
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Central and Eastern European Conferencing Services Market / M23A-64
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joanna.lewandowska[.]frost.com 
