Idc Predicts IP Centrex Growth Print E-mail
Written by Adam Gosling   
Monday, 14 November 2005
Based on IDC's most recent findings out of Singapore, IP Centrex services are starting to see strong growth in the Asia Pacific region as more operators look to the service as a way to harness the move into IP telephony in the enterprise.

IDC says service providers throughout the region (with Australia leading the way) have launched IP Centrex services and these offerings are slowly gaining mindshare, helping to create demand. As a result, IDC expects IP Centrex revenues to reach over US$157 million in 2009, showing a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 95%.

"As the APEJ region sees increasing development of the enterprise IP telephony market, service providers are looking to IP Centrex as a way to gain revenue from its growth," says Tim Crowley, Research Manager, IP Services, IDC Asia/Pacific. "In particular, IP Centrex services allow small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) access to the features, functionality, and cost savings offered by IP PBX solutions, without the same level of infrastructure investment required."

In terms of revenue, the IP Centrex services market was about US$6 million in 2004, and this is set to increase going forward, particularly from 2006, as more operators in the region launch IP Centrex services. Revenue is expected to reach US$13 million for full-year 2005, for year-on-year growth of 128%. Growth will further increase in 2006, as markets such as Korea, Taiwan and Thailand are expected to show increased demand.

In the region, Australia is currently the largest IP Centrex market, largely due to the fact that providers in the market were leaders in initially deploying the service. Going forward, Australia will continue to be the largest IP Centrex market in APEJ. As more markets move to deploy the service, demand and revenue will increase. The largest countries in terms of revenue by 2009 will be Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea.

Benefits of using an IP Centrex service include allowing an enterprise to reduce in-house staff while offering end users multiple features, containing upfront costs that can be associated with deploying an IP PBX solution, and allowing an enterprise to migrate voice and data networks onto one converged IP-based platform.

Also, by subscribing to an IP Centrex service, enterprise customers can avoid expenses associated with PBX upgrades and maintenance, while being able to leverage the latest that technology can offer. Overall, IP Centrex allows enterprises access to the features, functionality, and cost savings offered by IP PBX solutions, without the same level of infrastructure investment required, while offering a flexible and scalable voice solution. For telecom carriers, it helps to continue to retain a strong connection to customers, similar to a traditional voice offering.

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