According to new research from In-Stat, a significant
number of small and medium-sized businesses will, over the course
of this year, fully embrace IP telephony to harnesses the power of
the internet in business communications.
The survey shows that more than 30% of firms, including those
with less than 100 employees, are interested in and, more
importantly, planning to adopt IP telephony solutions in 2005.
However, the research shows that business needs for IP voice
networks vary greatly and that there is a growing need for "small
office" solutions, which are hard to come by.
According to the survey, this suggests that one size won't fit
all for IP telephony and that meeting customers' diverse
requirements with a rich portfolio of product may be what
distinguishes "leading" suppliers from those that fail.
"Without question, the business network is becoming increasingly
fragmented, driving customers' requirements upward and creating a
complex product development environment," said Kneko Burney, chief
market strategist for the high-tech market research firm.
"Today, large customers appear to have similar need for small
office solutions [IP telephony systems designed for 20 users or
less], as their small business counterparts," he added.
In-Stat has also found that IP Telephony solutions account for
just over 10% of the installed base of voice lines in the
enterprise market.
It said that it expected the small business market to become a
key growth segment for IP telephony solutions, as these customers
show increasing needs for more advanced voice and data networking
capability.
For more news on Wans
click here >>