Enterprise Adoption of Hosted IP Voice Leads VOIP Revolution, IDC Says.FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- After years of hype, VOIP (Voice Over IP) A digital telephone service that uses the public Internet as well as private backbones instead of the traditional telephone network. Many companies, including Vonage, 8x8 and AT&T (CallVantage), typically offer calling within the country for a has made the shift from an emerging technology to a viable business solution. Although the consumer market has attracted the most attention from the press, VOIP is gaining accelerated business adoption. The market for hosted IP voice services among US businesses is expected to reach nearly $60 million by the end of 2004. IDC projects a compound annual growth rate of 282% to reach $7.6 billion in 2008. The fastest growing VOIP market is hosted IP voice services for business customers. Hosted IP voice services are fundamentally different from PBXes because capital expenditure is avoided, maintenance contracts are unnecessary, and management is fully outsourced to a secure, central location. In addition, the customer is assured of instant access to the latest upgrades in both hardware and software. "With all of the market conditions in alignment, VOIP is finally poised to overtake o·ver·take tr.v. o·ver·took , o·ver·tak·en , o·ver·tak·ing, o·ver·takes 1. a. To catch up with; draw even or level with. b. To pass after catching up with. 2. and replace the aging but reliable circuit switched infrastructure. Much of the recent excitement over VOIP has focused upon relatively minor deployments to the consumer market, " says William Stofega, senior research analyst, VOIP Services. "While not down playing the potential of the consumer, IDC believes that the business market is ripe for adoption of VOIP and the features and functionalities that it promises. Hoping to avoid the savage price wars that have decimated other business services as well as fight off losses to IP PBX (Internet Protocol Private Branch eXchange) A telephone switch that supports voice over IP (VoIP). IP PBXs convert IP phone calls into traditional circuit-switched TDM connections for the PSTN. vendors, carriers are beginning to offer a hosted IP services to business customers." Given the dynamics of the current market for telecommunications services In telecommunication, the term telecommunications service has the following meanings: 1. Any service provided by a telecommunication provider. 2. , combined with the advantages embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. in a hosted solution, IDC believes that the opportunity for service providers is theirs to own. In the past, business customers have quickly rejected products that do not replicate their legacy experience. This study, U.S. Hosted IP Voice Services 2004-2008 Forecast: VoIP Invades the Enterprise (IDC #31825), presents IDC's forecast of the business hosted IP voice services market. Hosted IP voice services include a complete array of PBX-like business telephony features including an auto attendant The part of an interactive voice response (IVR) system that replaces the human operator and directs callers to the appropriate extensions or voice mailboxes. See IVR. , 4-digit extension dialing, 3-way conferencing, conference bridge, multiple call handling, business class voice mail, and hunt groups. Hosted voice services also deliver applications and enhanced features such as unified messaging Having access to e-mail, voice mail and faxes via a common computer application or by telephone. For example, unified messaging may send faxes and digitized voice mail to a mail server that turns them into e-mail attachments. , contact center, web services (1) Loosely, any online service delivered over the Web. Such usage appears in articles from non-technical sources, but not in IT-oriented publications, because definition #2 below describes the correct use of the term. , remote services/mobility, self-service management, presence, and instant messaging Exchanging text messages in real time between two or more people logged into a particular instant messaging (IM) service. Instant messaging is more interactive than e-mail because messages are sent immediately, whereas e-mail messages can be queued up in a mail server for seconds or . To purchase this document, call IDC's sales hotline at 508-988-7988 or email sales@idc.com. To purchase this document, call IDC's sales hotline at 508-988-7988 or email sales@idc.com. About IDC IDC is the premier global market intelligence and advisory firm in the information technology and telecommunications industries. We analyze and predict technology trends so that our clients can make strategic, fact-based decisions on IT purchases and business strategy. Over 700 IDC analysts in 50 countries provide local expertise and insights on technology markets. Business executives and IT managers have relied for 40 years on our advice to make decisions that contribute to the success of their organizations. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG IDG International Data Group IDG Integrated Drive Generator IDG Installation Design Guide IDG Internet Discussion Group IDG Inset Dielectric Guide IDG International Dangerous Goods (mail, shipping) , the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. Additional information can be found at www.idc.com All product and company names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. |
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