Wednesday, 16 April 2008

Hosted IP Centrex Services Continue Steady Growth in Fragmented Space

The Hosted IP Centrex market continues to show steady growth in the US and worldwide markets, reports In-Stat.

According to a recent study done by the high-tech market research firm titled “Hosted IP Centrex: A Fragmented and Growing Market”, customer expectations and requirements vary widely, and meeting these needs requires varying levels of expertise on the part of the service providers.

"As a result, 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," says David Lemelin, In-Stat analyst.

"In-Stat feels that 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."

Other findings from the study include:

• 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 has the highest penetration of hosted IP Centrex.

• The real estate industry fueled much of the growth in 2006 and 2007, but is now relatively stagnant.

• TDM Centrex seats will decline precipitously as local exchange carriers become more proactive in migrating customers to IP as a retention tool.