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Mitel and Cisco Leading Systems Providers in SMB Segment Business Wire March 14, 2006 Parsippany, NJ -- Small and medium businesses (SMBs) are adopting IP Telephony in droves, according to the most recent report from the InfoTech's InfoTrack for Converged Communications (ICC). The study reveals that demand for IP Telephony solutions have seen a 36 percent increase in station shipments to SMBs between 2004 and 2005, as organizations in this segment look for ways to harness technology to achieve gains in business value. By contrast, the shipments of traditional products that have served the needs of this segment (specifically: key systems) dropped by 17 percent over the same period. In 2005, the U.S. revenue from IP Telephony (IPT) systems and applications for SMBs was $1.4 billion, but applications represented only 20% of that total. Over the next five years, this market is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 19 percent, with the total revenue exceeding $3 billion in 2010. At that time, ITP-based applications are expected to account for 46% of the total. "Some 60 percent of our survey respondents strongly agree that applications enabled by IP Telephony will contribute significantly to business value," said Terry White, InfoTech VP and ICC Program Director. “But less than 10 percent say that is happening now. Many SMBs say they are waiting for early adopters to prove-in these applications. Others feel that most IPT vendors have not done an effective job of helping small and medium-sized businesses identify the applications that can deliver business value." The study also found that market share of IP telephony station shipments in the U.S. SMB market was led by Ottawa, Canada-based Mitel with a 12.6 percent market share in 2005, up from second place in 2004. San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco ranked second in serving the SMB market's IP Telephony systems needs with 11.7 percent market share in 2005. Cisco -- which up until 2005 primarily sold IPT systems to large enterprises -- has successfully shifted its focus to include the SMB market. Other findings in the study:
About InfoTech InfoTech, part of The Telecom Intelligence Group, publishes four comprehensive, primary research studies each year as part of its InfoTrack for Converged Communications (ICC) program. Its “Converged Applications” report focuses on the decision process for these applications, while identifying and analyzing the job titles and functions of IPT convergence decision-makers in end-user organizations. The report also provides insight into 77 features important to different market segments within 13 different applications categories to help technology developers prioritize their offerings along with detailed 5-year forecasts on the 10 most popular converged applications. InfoTech’s other ICC program studies focus on the decision process for IPT vendor and service selection for three distinct market segments -- large enterprise, mid-market companies and small businesses. For more information on the ICC program, please contact Craig Born at cborn@accessintel.com or (973) 602-0123. About The Telecom Intelligence Group The Telecom Intelligence Group includes market intelligence provider InfoTech; TelecomWeb and TelecomWeb news break; newsletters Wireless Business Forecast, Broadband Business Forecast and Telecom Policy Report; tariff consultancy Tarifica; and the Web-based business-telephony-product database TelecomTactics. Contacts: Terry White, vice president and ICC program director, twhite@accessintel.com
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