Report highlights PBX importance

According to the Dell'Oro group the total market for hosted PBX systems is going to exceed $6 billion (£3.67) by 2014.

However, growth is likely to be even higher than this, as hosted PBX is now sometimes classed within the unified communications market, which is going through major growth at the moment.

Hosted PBX (Private Branch Exchange) systems allow enterprises to better route their VoIP systems to increase the level of communication made possible within the enterprise.

The group also argues that as IP (Internet Protocol) communications develop, it is likely that PBX systems are going to integrate further with the overall unified communications infrastructure of a typical business.

Alan Weckel, director at Dell'Oro Group, said that: "UC [Unified Communications] will disrupt not only how vendors develop products, but also what kinds of "go-to-market" strategies they implement."

Mr Weckel highlighted the high-standards companies hold their unified communications systems to, by stating that Dell'Oro Group believes "it will take several software generations for a vendor to incorporate the functionality needed to become fully competitive with a UC offering in this market".