AMI-Partners' Survey Shows Explosive Growth in Investment of IP-PBX Solutions by Mexican and Brazilian Medium-Sized Businesses; Spending on IP-PBX Solutions by MBs in Brazil and Mexico Is Set to Grow at 43% and 59% CAGRs over the Next Five Years.

NEW YORK -- Investment in IP-PBX will reach US$25.7 million in Brazil and US$15.6 million in Mexico by 2005 year's end. According to AMI-Partners' bi-annual worldwide small and medium business (SMB) IT and telecommunications opportunity-sizing study titled "The SMB Global Model," IP-PBX spending among Brazilian and Mexican medium sized businesses will rapidly expand by 2009 to US$152.7 million and US$108.1 million, respectively. Given the relatively low current penetration rates for IP-PBX in Brazil and Mexico, as well as quickening demand for affordable IP solutions, IP-PBX is going to become an increasingly economical and efficient way for medium-sized businesses to communicate and collaborate with customers and suppliers.

The above findings were released today by New York-based AMI-Partners, drawn from its surveys of small and medium businesses in key developed and emerging market countries that account for almost three fourths of total SMB IT spending. AMI is a leading consulting firm that specializes in IT, Internet, telecommunications and business services market intelligence -- with a strong focus on global SMB enterprises. AMI-Partners conducts the industry's most comprehensive annual tracking surveys of SMBs in more than 20 countries, including North America (U.S. and Canada); Europe (U.K., France, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland and Russia); Asia-Pacific (Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand); and Latin America (Mexico and Brazil).

IP-PBX Adoption Landscape

"Connectedness to the global economic network is jump-started with a businesses' ability to make phone calls," noted Anmol Bhavnani, Research Analyst at AMI-Partners. "Within Brazil, small and medium-sized companies comprise 95% of all firms and provide nearly 60% of the jobs in the country. Despite their immense economic importance, Brazil's SMBs as a whole have not fully embraced IP-PBX, which is currently at a 16% penetration rate for MBs." However, according to Mr. Bhavnani, the increasing escalation and integration of data and voice traffic will ensure that IP-PBX solutions are increasingly sought after, especially given Brazil's leadership position in information and communications technology (ICT) development and deployment in Latin America. "These factors considered, an additional 25% of MBs in Brazil are expected to embrace IP-PBX within the coming year," continued Bhavnani.

Like their Brazilian counterparts, Mexico MBs have a high penetration rate in terms of basic computing and network access. The average MB in Mexico is planning to employ an additional 18 employees in the year ahead. Of the country's more than 17,000 MBs, close to 13,000 have mobile employees and more than 10,000 have branches. Mexico MBs have adopted IP-PBX solutions more quickly than those in Brazil, with a penetration rate of 20%. "IP-PBX will be of paramount importance as these MBs look to consolidate voice and data traffic as seamlessly as possible -- to accommodate the increasingly networked structure of the business organization as a whole," added Mr. Bhavnani.

The Outlook for IP-PBX Vendors

Considering the relatively low current penetration rates for IP-PBX -- but the compelling value proposition that this solution offers to MBs in Latin America --what are the best next steps for vendors? "In order to successfully sell to MBs in Mexico and Brazil, it is vital to recognize that these businesses want IP-PBX to seamlessly support and enhance their current or planned CRM/ERP solutions," explained Mr. Bhavnani. "Further, vendors should be cognizant of the target companies' current and projected employee size, and plans for expansion in terms of mobile offices and workers." The more mobile the MB and the greater the need for connectivity, the more these businesses are inclined to adopt IP-PBXs. Generally, service industries will be the first to embrace this technology if they have not done so already. Vendors must understand customers' specific requirements, in terms of number of stations, voicemail, universal messaging and IVR. Finally, quality of service is paramount. "Tin-can sound and interruption in connectivity just won't cut it. A top-quality network topology must be in place for the solution to be most effective," concluded Bhavnani.

About AMI-Partners

AMI-Partners specializes in IT, Internet, telecommunications and business services strategy, venture capital and actionable market intelligence -- focusing on global small and medium business (SMB) enterprises. The AMI-Partners mission is to empower its clients for success with the highest quality data, business planning and "go-to-market" solutions. AMI was founded in 1996 under the name of Access Media International (USA), Inc. by Andy Bose, a former group vice president at IDC. Since its inception, the firm has built a world-class management team, each with ten to fifteen years' experience in IT, telecom, online communications and multimedia.

AMI-Partners has helped shape the go-to-market SMB strategies of more than 150 leading IT, Internet, telecommunications and business services companies over the last nine years. The firm is well known for its IT and Internet adoption-based segmentation of the SMB markets; its annual retainership services based on global SMB tracking surveys in more than 20 countries; and its proprietary database of SMBs and SMB channel partners in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The company invests significantly in collecting survey-based information from several thousand SMBs annually, and is considered the premier source for global SMB trends and analysis.

For more information on AMI-Partners or our global SMB studies, please email [e-mail], visit www.ami-partners.com or call 212-944-5100.