Cisco

In “The Sunday Morning Reflections on Game Changing Technology” Andy Abramson digs into what’s going on in the video space. You can summarize what he’s saying as “with Facetime, Apple could remake the video conferencing space”.  He lays out a number of scenarios where applications like Webex and GoToMeeting are shared with video via an airplay link.

So where does that leave Skype?  Skype has:

• One big gap on iPhone – the lack of video (and consequently desktop sharing).
• One huge advantage over Apple – install base.  Because they’re on so many devices, they can bring a much larger audience to bear more quickly.

If I were in Skype’s shoes, I’d be hustling.  The vision Andy lays out is compelling, but Skype has to catch up to Cisco and Citrix quickly.

When Apple launched Facetime Steve Jobs made promises to open up the technology, but to my knowledge it hasn’t happened yet.  Would Apple still look on an effort to create a cross platform video conferencing solution which embraces iPhone positively, or negatively?  Do they have the appetite to shoot that big themselves, or would they leave it for third parties?

Related articles

• Apple’s FaceTime vs. Skype’s Skype (skypejournal.com)

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