The videoconferencing market - Italy

1.1 Definition and scope of study

Videoconferencing is defined as a conference in which video and audio equipment allow interaction between two or more people at a distance. This service is often used to interact from different parts of the world in order to reduce travel costs, but also to improve collaboration between users and therefore the productivity of an organisation.

The first videoconference appeared for the first time in 1954 in Brussels during the Universal Exhibition, as an experiment. However, its use in companies and organisations did not really develop until the first technological advances (increased bandwidth, better quality and speed of video, etc.).

The global video conferencing market is expected to grow by 9.8% between 2019 and 2026. The global market is experiencing strong growth in parallel with trends such as teleworking and increased digital exposure of companies worldwide.

Compared to other European countries, such as France and Germany, the Italian videoconferencing market is less developed. However, the market has been stimulated by the global pandemic. The emergence of COVID-19, in fact, has upset the videoconferencing sector, narrowing the gap between Italy and other European countries.

In Italy, Google Meet has been downloaded 140 times more times since the beginning of March and April, while Zoom recorded 55 times more traffic than average in the first two weeks of the health emergency alone. In addition, market trends include a shift towards cloud-based services, enabling greater accessibility and connectivity.