The global telepresence market will nearly reach $2.5 billion (EURO 1.8 billion) in 2013, according to ABI Research.
The announcement follows the publication of a detailed report that sets the market at $126 million in 2007.
Stan Schatt, vice president at ABI said "hundreds of senior executives are talking to virtual friends around the globe".
The report claims detrimental affects of travel – wasted money, travel and carbon emissions – are enough to spur many companies into spending up to $300,000 for a telepresence setup. Systems can allow key executives to meet with several companies around the world in the time it would take to make one trip.
Furthermore, systems do not have to be hugely expensive. Many telepresence operations are handled as managed services and less expensive "executive" systems, designed for one or two people, mean that telepresence technology is now migrating down to middle managers, expanding the market.
Schatt however said that, "with the exceptions of Cisco and HP, most of the companies in this space are small," and warned "while some of the more innovative technologies are coming from these small companies, the economic recession will make some buyers cautious about purchasing systems from very small vendors."