A Camarillo-based video conferencing company this month opened its first office outside of the U.S. Providea Conferencing LLC, which provides video conferencing equipment and support services, recently announced the new office, which is located in Buckinghamshire, England, just outside of London. Company officials say it will enable the company to better serve global customers and expand its international business. “The hope is that out of the UK, that could serve as a sort of springboard for us in the rest of the European countries,” said Todd Luttinger, the company’s president and CEO. With the new location, Providea is expected to grow its international revenues by as much as five to 10 percent over the next 12 to 18 months, Luttinger said. Providea started making plans for the new location after it realized that many of its U.S. clients were global companies. The company discovered that 30 percent of its customers required equipment and services abroad, and demand was heavily concentrated in the United Kingdom, Luttinger said. Now Providea can provide its clients faster project management, easier shipping logistics and tax consistency, Luttinger said. Ira Weinstein, senior analyst and partner for Massachusetts-based technology market research firm Wainhouse Research, said the new UK site is essential to Providea’s ability to connect with its European clients. “This is a stepping stone for Providea to get into those time zones in Europe and to have access to customers that are Euro-centric,” Weinstein said. “They can do a lot remotely, but having that person in that same time zone and that same continent really helps.” Providea has two employees running the new office, but Luttinger said that team is expected to grow over time. Providea has allocated enough money in its budget to hire five to 10 additional employees over the next 12 to 18 months, he said. Luttinger said Providea’s next international office will likely be in a neighboring European country or an Asian Pacific country, such as Japan or Singapore. The company is looking at 2012 as a target year for opening its second international office, he said. Company Growth Providea’s larger international presence is just one aspect of its expansion in recent years, which has resulted from a key acquisition and growth in the industry, Luttinger said. Luttinger co-founded the company as Providea Solutions in 1999 with a single office in Camarillo, he said. Now, the company has 13 offices throughout the United States. Luttinger said the growth is partially due Providea’s acquisition in 2008 of Videré Conferencing, a Boston-based video conferencing and multimedia integration company, which he founded. As a result of the acquisition, the Camarillo-based company changed its name to Providea Conferencing. In 2010, Providea had revenues of about $82 million, Luttinger said. For 2011, the company expects that figure to rise to about $100 million. He noted that projection is double the company’s revenues following the merger three years ago. Weinstein calls Providea one of the more significant video conferencing equipment resellers in the market. The company’s installation and support services place it at a “top-tier” level, he said. Providea is one of many companies to benefit from growth in the global market for video conferencing systems and infrastructure products. The industry has grown to $2.4 billion last year, from $2 billion in 2009, Weinstein said. That market is expected to have a five-year compound annual growth rate of 11 percent, reaching about $4 billion in 2015, he said. More advanced technology capabilities combined with more conservative spending by companies has helped to spur that industry growth, Weinstein said. “The stars have aligned in the industry, so companies like Providea are cashing in on that,” he said.
Video Conferencing Provider Opens Office Abroad
