14 Critical Video Conferencing Statistics to Know in 2022

With about 90% of American businesses investing in video conferencing technology, it’s clear that it isn’t going away anytime soon. Conference calls bring people together in a more intimate way than was possible using phone lines. It’s easier to have one-on-one or all-company virtual meetings, regardless of location. Discover the most critical video conferencing statistics, including the industry leader, and learn how this technology is changing how we do business.

Using an all-in-one platform or maintaining a separate service for video conferencing is unavoidable, as the following statistics show:

1. 51% of Industry Analysts Predict That Video Conferencing Will Be More Important Than Artificial Intelligence

(Source: “Impact of Video Conferencing Report” by Lifesize)

Artificial intelligence is clearly making headway in the business world, and voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) and unified communications as a service (UCaaS) providers like Nextiva and Dialpad are utilizing this technology in new and exciting ways. Still, it’s hard to discount the power of communication technology, like video conferencing. When it comes to the future of work and how colleagues interact, video conferencing is proving to be the technology to follow.

Modern video conferencing software is feature-rich. For example, breakout rooms help teams communicate in a more granular manner during all-company meetings. Additionally, with many providers offering attendee counts scaling into the hundreds, conferencing helps even distributed offices feel more unified.

2. By Utilization, Video Conferencing Is Leading Over Other Business Technologies

(Source: “Future Workforce Report 2021” by Upwork)

As we covered in our guide to unified communications statistics, modern business requires a wide array of tech solutions. And based on research done by Upwork, video conferencing is a leading technology insofar as everyday usage. Compared to corporate management software, applications used for messaging, and project productivity solutions, video conferencing has much higher utilization rates.

While a number of providers now offer team collaboration and communication solutions, Zoom remains the unquestionable leader for video conferencing as evidenced by the following statistic.

3. Zoom Owns 50% of the Modern Video Conferencing Market

(Source: TrustRadius)

There’s no question about the market leader. From family gatherings to standup meetings, Zoom is the go-to for many modern users. While there are copious Zoom alternatives out there, Zoom provides the features, flexibility, and, most importantly, the free plan that users need to reach out to customers and colleagues alike.

4. Zoom Bolstered Meeting Participants by 2,900%

(Source: BusinessofApps)

It’s almost like Zoom caught lightning in a bottle, and the pandemic provided them with the opportunity to proliferate the market, thanks to growing consumer needs. In fact, between December 2019 and March 2020, Zoom went from 10 million to 200 million users per month.

5. Zoom Users Are Sending & Consuming Massive Amount of Data

(Source: Reuters)

Based on research performed by Reuters, Zoom consumes about 7 billion bytes of data per day, which translates to more than 210,000 terabytes per month. This is thanks to the more than 200 million daily video users using Zoom to keep in contact and meet with customers and colleagues.

In fact, in the U.S. alone, users downloaded the software 14 times more often in 2020 than in 2019. While the numbers are leveling off, Zoom is creating new habits for both personal and business use. These habits most likely won’t drop off anytime soon.

However, despite being the market leader, there’s room for apps outside of Zoom as well, as noted in the statistic below.

6. Businesses Often Incorporate Other Software Subscriptions, With Teams & Cisco’s Webex Often Being Used in Addition to Zoom

(Source: Vox)

Despite being the market leader in 44 countries, Zoom is often used in conjunction with other conferencing providers. For example, based on research by Vox, 75% of businesses utilize Microsoft Teams, which in addition to its text-based communications and slash commands, has competitive video conferencing with features, such as breakout rooms.

7. 89% of Businesses Are Using Multiple Video Conferencing Platforms

(Source: Owl Labs)

This is a key indicator that various conferencing providers can coexist in the same space. Users simply choose the provider that best first their needs and preferences. For example, for those looking for standalone video conferencing, Zoom works well. In addition, some businesses prefer a unified communications approach that ties video conferencing with other forms of communication.

These businesses use Zoom for some meetings but might use a UCaaS solution with built-in video conferencing, like RingCentral or Nextiva, to deliver a multiplatform approach to daily business communications.

Telemedicine, in particular, has been a consistent adopter of video conferencing technology.

8. Businesses Managing Electronically Protected Health Information (ePHI) Are Using Video Conferencing

(Source: Business Wire)

Businesses working with health information are finding that video conferencing is a viable workaround for the in-person limitations necessitated by the pandemic. For businesses both in healthcare and life sciences, HIPAA-compliant video conferencing provides a means to not only meet with patients and customers, but also deliver a way to collaborate with colleagues.

Video conferencing allows for the discussion of treatment options, communications directly with patients to discuss various health-related topics, the administering of counseling, and for conversations with family members.

Distributed teams have also created a perfect storm for video communication in other industries.

9. Even Before the Pandemic, 48% of Professionals Were Using Video More Often Than in Previous Years

(Source: Lifesize)

In a 2019 study, Lifesize found that business users were communicating with video at a highly increased rate compared to just two years prior. This was based on 1,200 U.S. business professionals, and the study went on to state that 25% of these correspondents in the 18- to 29-year-old-range use the technology daily for work.

Clearly, there’s intrinsic value in video conferencing, and while the pandemic accelerated its adoption, business was clearly trending toward the technology. This is due to the fact that video conferencing adds efficiency to business operations. The same study stated that 47% of businesses had reduced travel due to the convenience of video conferencing.

10. In the Last Decade, the Number of Telecommuting Workers Has Increased by 115%, Making It a Prime Driver of Video Conferencing Adoption

(Source: Lifesize)

This is another indicator that the pandemic hasn’t been the only cause of increased video conferencing use. The convenience of video conferencing when communicating with coworkers, even at vast distances, has caused massive growth.

As you’ll see, there’s a reason users prefer this technology over more traditional business communication solutions. With more telecommuters, increases in the usage of web conferencing solutions were observed in 47 states—as much as over 100%.

11. Today, More Than 85% of Workers Work on Distributed Teams With Either Domestic or International Configurations

(Source: Fuze)

The office is rarely a single place these days. With both work from home and prevailing work trends, an increasing number of coworkers are finding that their colleagues are located around the globe. With this increase in distributed offices, video conferencing helps coworkers feel connected.

This is because video conferencing provides more communication cues than text-based communications.

12. Most Experts Agree That At Least 70% of All Communication Is Nonverbal

(Source: Lifesize)

While it’s considered a fallacy that 93% of communication is non-verbal, most experts agree that at least 70% of communication is performed with things like gestures and body language. For this reason, video conferencing is a more natural and effective way to communicate, even in business settings.

When you’re communicating using a video feed, your colleagues can understand context clues more easily and recognize things that would otherwise be lost in translation when using only text-based communication or voice communication, even when it is supported by the best business phone system.

Video conferencing is also powering the hardware market, as shown below.

13. In Addition to a Rise in Software Sales & Subscriptions, Hardware Is Also Experiencing Major Growth

(Source: Future Source)

While many users utilize onboard laptop microphones and cameras, many are also purchasing standalone hardware to power their meetings. In fact, video conferencing hardware, which includes items like green screens, is expected to ship 3.6 million units this year.

Reimbursement plans or policies that including provide hardware at no cost to the employee can be a great way to retain great talent, as employees also appreciate the convenience of video conferencing.

14. Video Calling Is a Preferred Way to Collaborate for 80% of Employees

(Source: Lifesize)

Using platforms that offer video calling is a great way for teams to collaborate, but it also offers an easy-to-use method that works well for one-on-one meetings. It allows employees to quickly jump on a call when needed, and video calls tend to take up less time than a traditional phone call or an in-person meeting.

Bottom Line

Face-to-face meetings are critical to modern business. While it’s been around for a long time now, the pandemic created a perfect storm for the technology. While platforms like Zoom have started to plateau, there’s no clear evidence that things will “go back to normal” when it comes to business communication. As time goes by, expect even more innovation in the field, with more features to help foster that one-on-one feeling in your daily meetings.