Within the next few years, experts say, two-way video communications will be the new cutting edge way of doing business. The banking industry is already starting to deploy "virtual tellers" at branch offices (this in addition to completely branch-free, internet-based "virtual banks")--while the retail industry is apparently gearing up to introduce "virtual store clerks."
This "kiosk-based" form of video communications at bank and retail locations is the prelude to the much larger rollout of fixed-line and mobile two-way video communications, which will ultimately bring this new form of communication into the privacy of our homes.
Obviously, there are still hurdles to overcome before video communications becomes commonplace. For one thing, there's still the basic problem of not enough bandwidth on our last-mile networks (in fact, almost half of the U.S. is still on dial-up).
Then there's the simple fact that most consumers do not have video phones or even video cameras and microphones connected to their PCs at home. Perhaps more importantly, there is still a question of how many people really want two-way video communications--whether actually seeing the person you are speaking with offers enough value to the consumer to make the cost of rolling out IP video communications worth it.
However, with the major wireless service providers of the world working in concert with the handset makers and aggressively rolling out video capabilities on their next generation networks, we are no doubt getting closer to the day when two-way video communications will become a reality.
Source: CRM Buyer, http://crmbuyer.com