Video Communication Soars During COVID-19 Crisis

Vonage have released a report detailing rapid growth in video communications usage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report, entitled: “The 2020 Video Trends Report: March Edition“, provides unique insight into how organizations are leveraging programmable video solutions to stay connected even in a time of crisis.

These insights include a look at total video minutes for Vonage customers, which increased 232% in March.

“COVID-19 has drastically changed everyday life, and organizations are seeking ways to minimize the disruption to their operations, while keeping their employees safe,” said Alan Masarek, CEO, Vonage.

“Vonage Video APIs are embedded in businesses’ existing applications, powering solutions that are connecting people and delivering services in a personal, seamless and safe way when in-person interactions are just not an option.”

Masarek continued: “The availability of off-the-shelf video conferencing solutions has garnered a lot of attention for remote work in recent weeks.”

“However, without the ability to provide embedded, programmable video functionality, these off-the-shelf solutions don’t address the need most businesses have to power essential services during this public health crisis, including telehealth, distance learning, finance, fitness and so many others.”

Healthcare and Education Traffic Grows to Support Individuals During Pandemic

Industries providing essential services during this global health crisis, including healthcare and education, experienced major increases in video traffic.

• Overall video traffic for telehealth services provided by Vonage increased 727% between February and March.
• As just one example, Vonage customer Doxy.me, a cloud-based telemedicine solution, reported 139,000 new providers and 1.35 million patients using telemedicine in just one week. This surge of usage equates to almost 21 million minutes and an average of nearly 169,000 calls daily.
• The education industry experienced a 36% increase in overall video minutes between February and March 2020, as educators turn to web-based instruction, virtual classrooms and office hours, and tutoring via video.

Business Services and Technology Industries Also Experience Video-Traffic Surges

Industries that help keep essential systems running smoothly, including technology and business services such as consulting, financial services and training, have also experienced video-traffic surges between February and March. Month over month:

• Video traffic from technology companies increased 287%.
• Social media platforms and messaging apps are also seeing widespread video traffic, with a 271% increase.
• Business service providers experienced a 222% increase.
• Financial services firms realized a 155% increase.
• Media industry companies experienced a 120% increase in month-over-month video traffic.

“The COVID-19-driven shift to remote work has created a huge rise in the use of video conferencing solutions,”said Zeus Kerravala, Founder & Principal Analyst, ZK Research.

“These off-the-shelf solutions are appropriate for general meetings, employee communications, virtual cocktail parties and other use cases where people are the main focus of the meeting.”

“For more complex use cases such as telehealth and distance learning, where security, as well as ease of use are key, it’s important to embed video into the platforms people are already using.”

“This would enable a doctor to see a patient and review medical records, maintaining privacy without having to switch applications; or for a teacher to maintain eye contact with students and focus on the material in a secure learning environment.”

Kerravala continued, “The Vonage Video API enables organizations to build these custom, secure and embedded video solutions within their own ecosystems, helping to keep these vital connections uninterrupted during these challenging times.”

Author: Robyn Coppell