The Scalability Factor in Video Conferencing You Can’t Ignore

Video conferencing continues to be a fundamental part of how organizations communicate. This is largely due to the reality of modern corporate and educational environments being a mix of on-premises and remote teams, as well as the need to collaborate across various locations.

For IT managers and those in charge of IT procurement, choosing the right video conferencing solution is incredibly important. While features and cost are certainly key, scalability is a crucial factor that’s often underestimated.

Let’s first clarify what we mean by scalability. Simply put, it is a system’s built-in ability to handle more users, concurrent data streams, or increased data volume without slowing down.

In video conferencing, this means smoothly supporting more simultaneous calls, higher resolutions for clearer visuals, or large-scale broadcasts for organization-wide meetings, training, or lectures. A truly scalable solution can easily grow to fulfill changing demands, preventing bottlenecks and delivering consistent performance.

Why Scalability is Crucial for Modern Video Conferencing

Current trends highlight the increasing demand for video conferencing solutions that can grow with an organization:

• Rise of Hybrid Work and HyFlex Learning: The widespread adoption of hybrid models has dramatically increased the need for reliable video conferencing gear. Organizations require solutions that can seamlessly connect in-person teams with remote participants, meaning systems must handle a fluctuating number of simultaneous sessions and varying Internet connection speeds.
• Larger and More Frequent Meetings: As businesses and educational institutions expand and global collaboration intensifies, gatherings are no longer just for a few people. Large corporate meetings, webinars, training sessions, and lectures are becoming more common, requiring solutions that can reliably support hundreds, even thousands, of attendees without issues.
• Richer Media and Higher Quality: Organizations are increasingly using higher resolutions for detailed presentations, design reviews, and the like. This requires video conferencing infrastructure that can efficiently transmit and process large amounts of data.
• Integration with Business Workflows: Video conferencing isn’t a standalone application anymore. It’s becoming deeply integrated into broader business processes, such as CRM systems, project management tools, and learning platforms. This complex network of connections demands a highly scalable foundation for smooth data flow and functionality across all platforms.

The benefits for users, and in turn for businesses and educational institutions, are substantial:

• Easily Accommodate Growing Participants: A scalable solution means a video conferencing setup can grow as teams expand or meeting frequency and size increase, all without disruptive overhauls.
• Adaptability to Different Meeting Spaces: Whether you’re setting up a small huddle room, a medium-sized conference room, or a large auditorium, a scalable system can adjust to various space requirements and technology integrations, providing a consistent user experience.
• Cost Efficiency and Fewer Hardware Upgrades: Investing in a scalable solution from the start reduces the need for frequent, expensive hardware upgrades later on. It allows you to use your existing infrastructure longer, maximizing your return on investment and minimizing operational costs.

AVer’s View on Scalability: An Interview with the Product Team

To gain deeper insights into how scalability is put into action, we sat down with AVer product team members, Zena Tzeng and Alvin Xu, to discuss their views and the design principles behind AVer’s scalable solutions such as the CAM550 4K Dual Lens PTZ Conferencing Camera and FONE700 Ceiling Speakerphone combo.

What drove the development of AVer’s scalable solutions like the CAM550 + FONE700?

The starting point is understanding our customers and their evolving needs. We’ve noticed a clear trend: organizations have experienced rapid growth in hybrid ways of collaborating, and the demand for high-quality, reliable video conferencing in diverse environments really accelerated after the pandemic.

So, we knew our solutions needed to be adaptable, capable of adapting to these shifts without forcing customers into costly rip-and-place scenarios.

Can you walk us through the design process and how scalability was prioritized?

Right from the start, we built our solutions with scalability in mind. We focused on a modular architecture that allows for flexible deployment. Take our CAM550 camera, for example. Its dual-lens design isn’t just for wide-angle views — it’s about giving you choices for different room sizes and how many people are in them.

The FONE700’s ability to daisy-chain microphones directly tackles the challenge of getting clear audio in bigger rooms. Basically, we designed it knowing that your 10-person meeting today might easily turn into a 50-person meeting tomorrow.

Any particular customer use stories where you saw the need to scale play out?

One vivid example comes from an educational institution in Malaysia. They loved the CAM550’s intelligent framing and presenter tracking, but their existing audio equipment struggled in the larger rooms. This is a typical scenario we see across customers looking to expand a mix of legacy and newer hardware.

We suggested a pairing with the FONE700, which can daisy-chain up to four speakerphones. Better audio coverage meant that every student, no matter if they were up front or in the back, could be easily heard and join in class discussions. Incremental upgrades have a powerful impact.

What about particular challenges deploying the CAM550 + FONE700 as a scalable solution?

The main challenge, as with any advanced solution, is getting it to fit smoothly into existing IT infrastructures. But we tackle this head-on with features like Camera Mode. It supports plug-and-play functionality, such as Audio Tracking, which can work immediately after you plug in the device to your PC without running any additional software. The focus here is on making deployment as straightforward as possible, even for large-scale rollouts.

How do you see scalability impacting how customers make decisions on what AV equipment to invest in?

Scalability is no longer a nice-to-have — it’s a fundamental requirement. Customers are well aware of how quickly technology changes and want modular devices that will last and adapt over time.

Sure, a non-scalable option might seem cheaper at first, but the hidden costs from performance problems, frustrated users, and the need to replace it down the line can really add up. Scalability means future-proofing your investment.

You mentioned the idea of having modular devices. Can you talk a bit more about scalability and modularity?

A modular system is more scalable because it allows new components to be added or existing ones to be upgraded or replaced as needed. And it also allows you to develop, test, and deploy individual features independently. 

This not only makes maintenance and troubleshooting simpler but also lets organizations customize and upgrade specific functions without having to overhaul the entire system. That means greater agility and more cost savings.

For example, the FONE700 can indeed be paired with other cameras. We designed it as a standalone, highly capable audio solution. This modularity gives IT managers the flexibility to integrate it into their existing AV setups or to scale up audio capabilities for other AVer cameras or even third-party solutions as needed. Our aim is to provide components that can function independently and collaboratively.

What’s next for AVer in terms of scalable video conferencing solutions?

We’re always investing in R&D to boost our AI capabilities, improve network integration, and add new audio and video processing features. A big part of scalability is the software.

With Room Management, for example, you can control AVer cameras directly from your computer via USB. It simplifies setting up your video and audio feeds over IP.

For larger setups, our Enterprise Management software allows you to manage over 200 AVer cameras using their IP addresses. You can centrally control camera functions, set presets, and update firmware, all to keep things running efficiently.

And for even broader reach, our Cloud Management platform lets you manage over 1,000 cameras from anywhere with a web browser. It’s great for remote access, monitoring, and applying updates, extending the life of your existing systems without needing new hardware.

The Upshot

In today’s dynamic work and education landscape, with hybrid and remote models now the norm, scalable video conferencing solutions are no longer a luxury but a necessity. When IT procurement prioritizes scalability, organizations can smoothly handle growth, adapt to different collaboration environments, and realize significant cost efficiencies over time. AVer’s focus on modular design and powerful management software shows how a smart investment in scalable AV equipment can prepare an organization’s communication infrastructure for whatever comes next, delivering consistent performance and maximizing return on investment.