The eruption of the volcano in Iceland and resulting ash cloud over Europe has cost the aviation industry around EUR 1.2 billion. Providers of tele- and videoconferencing equipment have profited from the disruptions to air traffic in Europe, as international businesses are forced to find alternative means for meetings.
One of the world's largest providers of videoconferencing products, Polycom annnounced that videoconferencing usage has increased at Regus, a provider of flexible rental offices for video conferences. Usage in Europe was up 18 percent in the days following the volcano eruption on 14 April. Especially Regus public videconferencing rooms in the UK, which was the first country to close its air space due to the ash cloud, saw increased use: 108 percent growth in one week. Regus offers peer-to-peer videoconferencing at all its sites. Thirteen larger offices offer suites for group video conferences.
Other conferencing service providers have been using the disruptions to air travel as a way to promote their offerings. BT Germany, Easynet and Telefonica have been offering free videoconferencing rooms. BT is still billing a per-minute rate for the service, and Easynet and Telefonica are limiting the offer to existing customers. Deutsche Telekom has been offering its virtual conferencing services free to all businesses in Germany.
If the businesses that have been forced to use virtual conferencing services are satisfied with the services, the volcano eruption could lead to a major breakthrough in the market in Europe. To date, marketing of the videoconferencing services has focused on the environmental benefits. But it's not the environment, it's restrictions on travel that's the most important driver for videoconferencing.
