PBX world goes IP

 

Following a slower start than many predicted, IP-based enterprise telephony is gaining ground fast. Significant inroads have already been made and dramatic growth is expected over the next few years.

 

Enterprises are demanding IP telephony based on its perceived cost savings and future-proof architecture, coupled with the fact that new multimedia services and applications are easier to implement and manage in a converged infrastructure.

 

Today, pure-play IP-PBXs account for less than five per cent of customer premises equipment (CPE) shipments. However, the deployment of IP lines is expected to grow by more than 50 per cent annually over the coming years as hybrid, IP-enabled PBXs dominate the market. Businesses value these hybrid solutions because they enable them to take advantage of the cost savings generated by using their IP infrastructure for voice traffic where it makes sense (for intra-site traffic or branch office integration, for example), while still protecting their investments in existing business-class communications systems.

 

In parallel to the growing popularity of IP-based CPE, the increased availability of broadband connections is enabling the deployment of Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services such as IP-Centrex. According to market analysts Probe Group, by the end of 2008, nearly 27 per cent of the global fixed line market will be using voice over packet technology.