VoIP News: IP PBX

IP PBX market sees growth

Worldwide IP PBX deployments went up between the second and third quarter of the year, according to a new study.

Infonetics Research revealed in its worldwide enterprise telephony market report that the IP PBX sector saw growth of nine per cent in revenue and seven per cent in lines.

There was also year-on-year growth of 25 per cent in VoIP phone shipments, while IP softphone deliveries more than doubled between the two quarters.

The telephony market as a whole increased by eight per cent over the period, reaching $2.6 billion.

Matthias Machowinski, directing analysts for enterprise telecoms at the company, said that the expected recession will probably hit telephony sales "because one of the prime drivers of PBX sales is the creation of new businesses and the expansion of existing businesses, which are hampered during downturns".

However, he added that IP PBX performed well because of new product launches and IP softphones "should weather the economic storm fairly well, with continued annual growth expected".

Last month, the firm said that the outlook for the VoIP provider market was "decent", given the current worldwide economic downturn.

Posted on: 2008-12-15, in: IP PBX

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Femtocells 'enhance IP PBX'

IP PBX solutions could greatly benefit from a new technology called femtocells, according to a company which develops them.

Mark Keenan, general manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa at RadioFrame Networks, explained on SME Web that femtocells are small indoor mobile base stations.

They act in the same way as a mobile phone mast but on a much lesser scale, so they can be used within a business or a home.

He predicted that they will become "widespread within a few years", as people look for improved coverage and more bandwidth from their mobiles.

"For instance, when used for mobile internet and mobile VoIP, picocells and femtocells can enable users to reduce expensive mobile phone call costs by using their mobilebroadband IP connections," he explained.

"Femtocells could be used to enhance IP PBX services by providing a mobilePBX layer and eventually, could even offer an alternative to fixed-line PBXs and one day, even LANS."

American telecommunications company AT&T recently announced that it was testing the technology and will begin putting the product into trial markets in 2009.

Posted on: 2008-12-11, in: IP PBX

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IP PBX 'offers savings up to 40%'

Businesses which switch to an IP PBX (private branch exchange) from a conventional system can save up to 40 per cent in telecoms costs, a new report has claimed.

Author Carl Potter, communications research director at Bloor Research, explained that the exact amount of savings is dependant on "how bad things were" before the switch.

He said that firms which have a number of premises spread over various locations, have old PBX systems and require a large amount of communications tend to best from deploying an IP PBX system.

"They gain from lower cost of ownership and simplified management and lower cost VoIP calls and also improved communications between sites and with customers and suppliers etc," Mr Potter claimed.

He added that, "depending on the scale of project and commitment", savings compared with a conventional PBX can range from four to 40 per cent.

Hosted IP PBX solutions can help smaller businesses who cannot afford the initial outlay and maintenance costs of a traditional IP PBX system, the marketing director of Bandwidth.com, Samuel Schneider, said last month.

Posted on: 2008-11-05, in: IP PBX

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'No heavy investment required' for hosted PBX

Businesses which choose hosted PBX (private branch exchange) over conventional IP PBX models save themselves initial set up costs, according to an expert.

Samuel Schneider, Bandwidth.com marketing director, was asked if the outlay and upkeep of IP PBX could stop smaller companies from deploying VoIP solutions.

He said: "The prohibitive cost and maintenance demands of traditional IP PBX technology was responsible in part for the emergence of the hosted IP PBX model, which charged businesses monthly fees per seat or per employee, instead of a heavy initial investment."

A PBX is a private network which is set up within a company, where users share a number of outside lines.

As well as being cheaper than connecting an external line to every phone in the business, it allows internal phone calls to be made by dialling a small amount of digits.

An IP PBX is a similar system, which can either be software or hardware, and transmits voice using IP (internet protocol).

Posted on: 2008-10-30, in: IP PBX

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SIP can offer VoIP PBX help

Using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) solutions in call centres can help with a VoIP PBX deployment, according to an expert.

Paul Segre, chief executive of Genesys, writes on TMCnet.com that SIP is standards-based and independent of media and has a generic interface which lets every application become interoperable.

He also claims that, because it removes the need for middleware and creates a transparent interface to applications across the business, costs can be reduced by up to 25 per cent, as well has helping agents and improving customer service.

In addition, "because the solution integrates all applications and communication channels into the data network, there is no need for computer telephony integration," meaning legacy PBXs "are no longer essential", easing the VoIP PBX deployment.

Mr Segre also explains that the open standards of SIP mean that non-proprietary software and hardware can be used for functions such as routing, queuing and customer interaction management.

However, it allows changes to these to be made "while routing strategies, supervisory roles and key metrics will all remain essentially the same".

Posted on: 2008-10-08, in: IP PBX

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