Video Conferencing Ready for Mainstream?

Implications: Video conferencing has always been a nice idea.  Early experiments prior to 2000 were interesting novelties, but really not very practical.  Over the past several years, only the largest global corporations have had some success using video conferencing in limited scenarios.

Is video conferencing nearly ready for mainstream deployment in corporations?  If so, who will be the major providers of this specialized equipment?

Analysis: Cisco, the most recognized and trusted brand name in telecommunications hardware is making an interesting marketing play in this area. On last week's episode of FOX's action show 24, Cisco's TelePresence product was prominently showcased.

A couple of key questions come to mind...

1) Can the new corporate networks handle this type of traffic successfully?

2) Will the new hardware and software make the experience worthwhile?

3) Will a brand like Cisco make the buying decision less stressful for corporate CIOs?

If so, then Cisco has an opportunity to recreate its original router product penetration bonanza and keep long term players like Tandberg in the smaller super-high-end market only.