PBX decline highlights growth in VoIP solutions

More firms are turning to VoIP solutions as the Private Branch Exchange (PBX) industry continues to decline, according to research.

Market research firm Dell'Oro Group found that PBX market revenues declined in the first quarter of 2010 and are predicted to continue falling during 2010.

Businesses are instead switching to IP telephony solutions as many firms are using IP lines for their calls.

The report claims that PBX revenues were affected by seasonality, while many companies are waiting for the latest hardware releases before making a purchase.

"We believe that PBX market revenues will continue to weaken in 2010 despite a rebound in line shipments, because the market is heavily weighted towards Europe and transactions relying on the Euro," said Alan Weckel, director at Dell'Oro Group.

The complete changeover to IP lines is estimated to be completed within the next decade.

Meanwhile, the top eight vendors, including Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco and Siemens, accounted for 80 per cent of IP line shipments during the first quarter.