Riassunto analitico
La tesi si propone di analizzare le dinamiche di mercato del settore delle piattaforme di videoconferenza, ponendo l'attenzione su qui servizi erogati tramite il web con software cloud-based, identificabili come servizi di web conferencing. Partendo dall'esposizione delle motivazione per cui a livello organizzativo è avvenuta una crescente integrazione di sistemi di comunicazione via video, per la gestione di flussi di informazioni sia interni che esterni, ci si chiede come e se questi sistemi possano definitivamente imporsi come standard di comunicazione e collaborazione, rendendo obsoleti gli strumenti già utilizzati e collaudati, come comunicazione scritta e audio. L’interesse nella ricerca oggetto di questa tesi nasce dal forte aumento della domanda di piattaforme di web conferencing avvenuto in seguito alla messa in campo delle misure di contenimento per l’emergenza Coronavirus. Il corpo del lavoro si concentra sulla pura analisi di mercato: iniziando con la descrizione dei servizi oggetto del mercato, si cerca di delineare le caratteristiche principali dell'ambiente competitivo, quali i segmenti serviti, la distribuzione dei consumatori a livello geografico, fino all'identificazione dei maggiori competitor, cercando di delinearne le dinamiche competitive e il modello di business attraverso l'utilizzo di modelli teorici esistenti in letteratura, quali Network effects e Standards Battle. Il lavoro si conclude con l'analisi di un caso studio, ottenuto da una collaborazione con una delle prime banche italiane, e la presentazione delle ipotesi dei possibili futuri scenari circa l'adozione massiva di sistemi di video conferenza.
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Abstract
The past two decades have seen a remarkable change in the business landscape for companies worldwide, that have started an evolution of their workstyle to remain competitive in an increasingly global and virtual environment. With a growing incidence of remote work practices, the establishment of virtual teams and the geographically dispersed customers and partners, organizations increasingly relied on unified communications and collaboration systems to keep internal and external stakeholders connected and collaborative. Video and web conferencing services, especially, have gained outstanding traction because of the high level of communication richness and performance they provide. After a steady growth in the adoption of these communication and collaboration tools, the exceptional event of the Covid-19 pandemic has generated a market shock, incredibly increasing the value and the demand of web conferencing systems for enterprises, educational institutions, healthcare, and governments, as a reaction to social distancing norms and lockdowns.
The analysis of the market potentialities of these promising services will be the focus of this work, whose final aim is to provide an answer to the research question asking if the exponential adoption of these collaboration services is to be assumed merely as a short-run reaction to a market shock or as a tipping point for a radical evolution of organizational practices.
In order to define a critical base for evaluation of the issue, the thesis will, firstly, outline the organizational developments that have led to the appreciation of videoconferencing services and the main drivers of demand expansion, up to the pandemic. Secondly, the web conferencing sector will be examined, with insights in the market structure, its players’ competitive dynamics, growth strategies and business models. In addition to this, how network effects are leveraged by competitors in the market will be another key point of the analysis.
Finally, support to the collected research elements and the advanced considerations will be offered through the inclusion of a case study resulting from a collaboration with the Digital and Innovation Office Area of the first Italian bank. The objective of the case study is to provide evidence of the real challenges and opportunities deriving from the integration of web conferencing tools. This will allow to assess to what extent the considerations and hypothesis made throughout the work, that rely on the existing information and literature available and sustain a structural and massive adoption of these innovative services, are predictive of a realistic future scenario.
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