Matt Scott, President of Omega Audio Video in London, ON, is like a lot of AV integrators. His customers started asking him about video conferencing before he had a chance to begin calling on them offering conferencing-related products and services.

"It's definitely a market we're investigating expanding; that we're working on expanding," Scott says, but he adds, "At this point, it's still mainly something we do on an as-demanded basis."

The emergence of video conferencing as an AV category may have caught many integrators off guard. They now need to catch up fast.

For those who offer commercial integration services, especially conference room integration, or plan to start, video conferencing is no longer optional, or the sole province of large enterprises. It's now a standard part of the mix for all types and sizes of business.

Rafi Anuar, Director of Product Management, LifeSize Communications, a division of Logitech: "Video conferencing saves time. It saves money. It boosts productivity. The return on investment is pretty clear in almost every situation."

Business video conferencing today covers an enormous range.

At the top end are custom-designed mirrored boardrooms with matching décor and furniture that create an illusion of sitting across a table from remote participants who appear life-size on multiple screens in full HD-quality video, often referred to as telepresence.

At the other end, are point-to-point video chats with participants using desktop or laptop computers, or even mobile devices and free online video conferencing services such as Skype.

Conferences that include both participants in boardrooms and remote users on desktop or mobile systems are also increasingly possible.

Some companies may still use legacy analog and digital equipment designed to transmit over telephone networks, but IP network-based conferencing, over LAN or Internet, has become the dominant mode.

"Many of our pro AV dealers that are doing commercial work have migrated into video conferencing because it's being integrated into many, many conference rooms now," says Kevin Kelly, President and COO of Stampede.

Stampede, a major Canadian and U.S. distributor of AV equipment, itself made a first move into the video conferencing market earlier this year when it acquired Spire Global, a specialist distributor. More recently, it announced an agreement under which it will become the exclusive distributor of Sony video conferencing gear in eastern Canada.

Eric Murphy, Vice President of the new Stampede Visual Communications Group heading up this initiative, argues that moving into video conferencing is "a natural step for traditional pro AV integrators and for integrators new to the business market too."

It's also a very attractive market, Murphy and others say, both fast-growing and profitable.

"It offers the integrator the best margins," Kelly says. He won't say exactly what they are, but adds, "If you look at traditional AV products, this is by far the most profitable as a main category, obviously excluding certain accessory lines."

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