The Consumer Effect Strikes AgainThe Consumer Effect Strikes Again

LifeSize Communications competes with Cisco in the Web video business, but John Doyle says he's grateful for all the attention Cisco CEO John Chambers is giving to the promising new technology because there's huge opportunities to compete at different price points with varying levels of complexity for installation, deployment, and management.Noting that Cisco says some of its video and "TelePresence" products require 6-megabit pipes, LifeSize is offering solutions that can be handled over 1-megabit lines.

Demand is higher than anticipated among small and medium-sized businesses, Doyle said, in part because more people are becoming accustomed to HD quality at home and are now demanding it at the office as well. A sign of the times: Doyle said that in 2006, more HD televisions were sold than conventional sets, marking the first time those lines have crossed. Channel partners have been finding success in such varied markets as legal (remote depositions), engineering (coordinating product development across continents), and offshore software development (project management).