By the year 2016 businesses will spend £2.3billion on video conferencing, the analyst company Ovum is predicting.

This is turn may give rise to a whole new sector of management specialists who the larger organisations at least will employ as operators, system integrators and equipment vendors.

The growth in video conferencing is down to companies realising that reducing the necessity to travel to meetings cuts down on the time, costs and the environmental impact of business travel.

Video conferencing also makes meetings more effective than conducting business over the phone as it is more akin to a face-to-face encounter where nuances and body language can be better interpreted.

Keith Warburton, editor of vcinsight.com, said: “So perhaps rather than ask whether video conferencing is desirable or effective, we should surely be asking why on earth we choose to limit ourselves to voice-only phone conversations when there are much more effective options available.”