Managed Service Providers are of the few groups of companies experiencing a boost in their businesses while many others are carefully watching every dollar they spend.

Video conferencing has been around for years, of course. But many companies either didn't implement the technology, or did not see huge adoption of it if they did. One reason for not implementing or using the technology was poor video quality. And once implemented, many end users simply rolled their eyes at the technology because launching a video conference required tech support nearly every time.

As companies continue to open more branch offices and allow more employees to become virtual workers, the notion of video, Web, and audio conferencing, along with other collaborative applications, has become paramount in making the virtual workplace successful.

Global Crossing became the latest carrier to add high-definition (H.264) to its managed IP video conferencing services.

Why does this matter? By improving its video bridging technology, Global Crossing is able to deliver images that are up to four times better than standard definition images. That addresses the issue of poor video quality. Couple that with Global Crossing’s online scheduling tool, dubbed Web Reservations, and scheduling and launching a video conference becomes easier.

In Nemertes’ Unified Communications and Collaboration benchmark, 54% of IT executives said they were using or planning to deploy IP-based video conferencing systems.

Managed video services, such as those from Global Crossing and competitors including AT&T, Masergy Communications, and Verizon Business, are worth considering. Companies with multiple branch offices want to keep employees connected and productive, but without IT expertise in those branch locations (or with limited IT staff at the headquarters), it’s often challenging to use video conferencing.

By leveraging the expertise of service providers, managed video conferencing may actually reduce total operational costs.

Robin Gareiss is executive vice president and senior founding partner of Nemertes Research. Click  here for the newsletter archive.