THE global recession and swine flu have dampened the outlook for most businesses, but for conferencing equipment maker Polycom, they have turned out to be a double boon.
Although the US-led financial crisis weighed down most economies in the second half of 2008, Polycom's full-year sales still rose 15.5 per cent to US$1.1 billion. Its regional revenue surged even more as businesses and governments splashed out on new video-conferencing systems to boost collaboration and cut operating costs.
'We grew around 20 per cent in the Asia-Pacific in 2008,' says the managing director of Polycom's Asia-Pacific operations Hansjoerg Wagner.
'We also expanded our regional headcount significantly last year. We increased our employee base about 25 per cent on the ground.'
The company now employs more than 2,500 workers worldwide, including about 70 at its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore.
According to Mr Wagner, governments and businesses in the region have shown a strong propensity to use video-conferencing in the past few years - and recent events have accelerated the adoption curve.
Polycom, which used to specialise in audio-conferencing equipment for corporate meeting rooms, now derives close to 70 per cent of its sales from video-conferencing systems. The Asia-Pacific currently contributes almost 25 per cent to the company's global video solutions revenue.
'The Chinese government is the biggest video-conferencing user in Asia-Pacific,' says Mr Wagner. 'But throughout the region, governments are extremely pro-video and have been investing in the necessary infrastructure.'
As the world economy worsened in 2008, sales of video-conferencing systems spiked as more companies embraced the technology to replace expensive physical travel.
'With the slump, there was a fundamental need to review how companies conduct their business globally,' Mr Wagner says.
His claim is backed up by industry statistics, with technology research firm Gartner predicting that 'video tele-presence' could replace 2.1 million airline seats annually by 2012.
In Singapore, operators such as Singapore Telecom and StarHub have also reported a surge in customer interest in their audio and video-conferencing offerings.
And with the world on the brink of a swine flu pandemic, travel restrictions could give conferencing technology another boost.
'A singular compelling event such as Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) or H1N1 flu typically leads to a spike in video-conferencing. They tend to push up the business to an artificially high level,' says Mr Wagner.
