Despite the global downturn, the hosted IP Centrex
market has continued to show steady growth in the US and worldwide
markets,
according to research from
In-Stat.
The research found that
hosted IP Centrex seats in service will reach 6.5 million in
the US and 14.1 million worldwide by 2012. The government vertical
sector currently has the highest penetration of hosted IP Centrex
but whereas the real estate industry fuelled much of the growth in
2006 and 2007, it is now a relatively stagnant market. In-Stat adds
that TDM Centrex seats will decline precipitously as local exchange
carriers become more proactive in migrating customers to IP as a
retention tool.
In general, the research firm found that customer expectations
and requirements vary widely, and meeting these needs requires
varying levels of expertise on the part of the service
providers.
Commented David Lemelin, In-Stat analyst, “we are seeing
fragmentation in the hosted IP Centrex space where some providers
give customers the tools to self-install and maintain services with
web-based tools, while others are more proactive in addressing and
managing front-end network integration issues and the long-term
data and voice communications needs of multi-site businesses…there
is ample opportunity for success in both scenarios, but it is
difficult for any single provider to be all things to all customers
and do so profitably."