Next Generation Education

Transcription

1 Next Generation Education Visual Collaboration Vendor Insight MA21-67 January 2014

2 Contents Section Slide Numbers Executive Summary 3 Scope and Definitions 5 Video Conferencing in the Education Sector Market Overview 6 Key Market Drivers Summary 8 Key Market Restraints Summary 10 Key Market Trends 12 Vendor Profiles 17 The Last Word 22 The Frost & Sullivan Story 25 MA

3 Executive Summary Frost & Sullivan s on-going research into the video conferencing market identified education as one of the key vertical industries for growth of video conferencing technology. Video conferencing is transforming the provision of education services. It is helping to meet familiar challenges in the education sector and is creating new opportunities for collaborative learning. Virtual learning is on the roadmap for most educational institutions and is gaining traction in schools and universities across Europe, but adoption amongst schools lags behind universities. Although the price of endpoints is declining, cost persists as a significant barrier to adoption. Mobility is becoming a key component of video solutions in education, primarily due to the rise in popularity of distance learning programmes. Video conferencing in education is at the early adopter phase. The market is mainly being driven by third-level institutions while adoption among schools remains at a more nascent stage. In this market insight, Frost & Sullivan identifies key areas across the education sector where the benefits of video conferencing are most acutely felt. It will also analyse the key market drivers, challenges, and major market trends; and it will provide profiles and case studies from leading vendors. MA

4 Scope and Definitions The geographic scope of this research is Europe, including Russia. Video Conferencing Market in Education Sector: Geographic Scope, Europe, 2012 The research splits education into two categories: Schools and higher education. Higher education is defined as colleges, universities, online advanced education courses, and private trade schools. This research covers video conferencing infrastructure and endpoints as well as associated services such as integration, maintenance, and training. MA

5 European Market Overview Vendors have reported that they view the United Kingdom and Germany as the largest markets in terms of size and opportunity. Connecting disparate campuses across vast distances is a priority for universities in Russia and the Nordic region. Adoption here is predicted to increase rapidly. The large number of universities and research institutions in Switzerland and the Benelux region leave these markets ripe for further expansion. Third-level institutions are expected to continue to account for the vast majority of educational institutions spending on video conferencing infrastructure and endpoints. Diverse sources of funding and multiple use cases for the technology make these institutions much better positioned to adopt video conferencing solutions. Moreover, most universities have already welldeveloped IT systems and the staff and support to integrate and maintain these systems. In contrast, schools are much more limited by their sources of funding. They are inclined to be risk averse when it comes to technology and use cases are more limited. Any IT infrastructure is typically small, as are the resources to support it. As a result, adoption by schools will be much slower than is the case with third level institutions. MA

6 Key Market Drivers Summary Video Conferencing Market in Education Sector: Key Market Drivers, Europe, Enhanced Learning for Schools Re-group Dispersed Campuses Facilitate Distance Learning Win Funding and Grants Attract Students MA

7 Key Market Drivers Explained Attract Students Visual collaboration facilities can help improve a university s rankings, which in turn boosts the institution s chances of attracting the best performing students. Moreover, it helps attract overseas students who are charged higher tuition fees. Win Funding and Grants State-of-the-art collaboration facilities form part of universities strategies to win highly competitive funding, research grants, and private sector investment. Facilitate Distance Learning Re-group Dispersed Campuses Enhanced Learning for Schools Distance learning programmes are vitally important to video conferencing solutions growth. In particular, soft clients available on PCs/Macs and tablets are growing in popularity, largely thanks to the huge growth in ownership of such devices. Universities are faced with the challenge of re-grouping their many dispersed campus locations. Creating one virtual campus is becoming an essential part of universities technology roadmaps, of which video conferencing is a major component. Demand in schools is driven by the desire for higher standards by various stakeholders parents, taxpayers, and government. Video conferencing is used to facilitate guest speakers, virtual tours, and collaborative working. It can also form part of community outreach programmes by facilitating collaboration. MA

8 Key Market Restraints Summary Video Conferencing Market in Education Sector: Key Market Restraints, Europe, Infrastructure Capacity Supporting Mass Deployment Providing an Easy-to-use Service Security Cost MA

9 Key Market Restraints Explained Infrastructure Capacity Supporting Mass Deployment Providing an Easy-to-use Service Security Cost The effect of the proliferation of video recording and streaming on education networks is not yet known. While newly built infrastructures and areas with fast broadband connections are well positioned for adoption, latency and network capacity is still an issue on older networks. Traditional video conferencing networks were not designed for large-scale deployments such as multiple lecture theatres streaming simultaneously. Providing support for the recording and storage of content can seem like a daunting prospect for IT departments. Ease-of-use is vitally important if schools and universities are to incorporate video learning into their courses. First-time experiences can be crucial to gaining acceptance of a new service. Ensuring that only those with the correct authority can access material is an important issue. Designing a framework that facilitates use by staff and students, but that limits access to relevant material is a necessary feature. Cost remains a key concern for IT departments. However, the declining price of endpoints and relative low cost of soft clients has eased the cost burden. Furthermore, the economic rational behind video learning saves or generates money in the long run. MA