Businesses need to replace obsolete voice platforms and integrate UC tools into IP, says IDC
Combined Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) revenue from enterprise IP PBX and IP telephone sales will exceed $5.1bn in 2015, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.9% between 2010 and 2015, according to a new study by IDC.
The new study said since 2010, the EMEA IP PBX and IP telephone markets have been reinvigorated after the decline that started in autumn 2008, however, the growth rate will be modest in the next few years than in 2010.
The study suggested that businesses will need to replace obsolete voice platforms (whether TDM or IP), which will constitute the baseline of the EMEA IP telephony equipment market until 2015.
In addition, businesses will have to integrate IP telephony equipment with unified communication and collaboration (UC&C) tools to enable new, flexible ways of working, IDC said.
The readiness of businesses to spend on IP telephony equipment will determine current profits and prospects for future business growth.
IDC Communications and Networking senior research analyst and study author Michael Vorisek said IDC is convinced that IP voice technology has a lot to offer, even if EMEA faces a return to recession.
"But if a double-dip recession occurs, the game will alter markedly for vendors. The requirements of their customers, the needs of their partners, and the threats from their competitors will change dramatically," Vorisek said.
Under such conditions, the dynamic rise in flexible working in Western Europe will benefit the sales of IP telephony and UC&C platforms, according to IDC.
"On the other hand as cost optimisation would be the absolute priority of customers, vendors would need to focus on this and work on optimising the standing portfolio in terms of performance, reliability, and production costs," Vorisek said.
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