IP telephony poised for growth in small, mid-sized business markets
Small and mid-sized businesses are prepared to invest in converged voice and data networking solutions that will allow them to reduce communications costs, boost employee productivity, and quickly adapt to changing business conditions. That's one of the key findings of a new study from CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association.
The CompTIA study evaluated current opportunities for deploying converged voice and data services in the small and medium sized business market (from 20 to 499 employees). Sixty percent of companies with 50 to 499 employees said they intend to upgrade corporate phone systems within the next 24 months; and 44 percent of small businesses (20 to 49 employees) intend to do so as well in the same time frame. About one-half of the businesses with 50 or more employees have already allocated money for the upgrade. Over half of all respondents said they would consider a converged solution when making an upgrade decision.
"The majority of these businesses have multiple locations and are managing disparate phone systems," said Edward Migut, director, CompTIA's CT Pioneers Section. "Their business is more dispersed than ever before, their employees are more mobile, and integrated voice and data capabilities are integral to their profitability and success. Internet Protocol (IP) telephony and convergent technologies can help many businesses cost-effectively manage multiple physical locations, mobile employees, departmental restructuring, and fluctuating headcount."
Businesses with multiple locations have far more aggressive purchasing plans than single site businesses, according to the study. Nearly half (44 percent) indicated they will upgrade their phone systems within the next 12 months.
Businesses with more than 50 employees said they value a voice system that can scale and adjust quickly and easily to changes in their business. They also are interested in applications that adapt to their dynamic business needs, such as centralized multi-type message retrieval and advanced call forwarding. More than 40 percent value the ability to manage and track a call over a personal computer.
"These multi-site businesses face more complex challenges and have the potential to reap greater benefits from migrating to IP, including least cost routing, voice virtual private networks, enhanced conference calling, and centralized management," Migut said.
The Web-based study, conducted for CompTIA by the Yankee Group, involved 350 respondents, each of whom is a decision-maker at a company that currently has a traditional private branch exchange (PBX), key system or Centrex service. About 60 percent of the businesses included in the survey currently have a PBX system deployed, with the balance divided between Centrex and key systems.
The companies ranged in size from 20-49 employees (75 respondents), to 50-99 employees (100 respondents), to 100-499 employees (175 respondents). Annual revenues of the businesses surveyed ranged from $4 million to $41.7 million.
The survey on convergence opportunities in the small and mid-sized business market is the latest example of CompTIA's work to advance development in the information technology (IT) industry; including convergent technologies, e-commerce, IT training, software services, certification, public policy, and workforce development.