Hosted IP Centrex services continue steady growth

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."