In-Stat Reports Demand in SME Space to Drive IP Centrex/Hosted PBX Revenues.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The IP Centrex/Hosted PBX market is poised for explosive growth over the next 4 years, with revenues reaching approximately $1.3 billion by 2009, reports In-Stat (http://www.in-stat.com). The demand in the Small and Medium business (SME) space, the sweet spot for these hosted services, has been accelerating for several years, the high-tech market research firm says.

IP Centrex/Hosted PBX is a hybrid of two different voice-switching systems, legacy Centrex and legacy Private Branch Exchange (PBX) solutions. "The main drivers for the service include cost savings, an enhanced feature set including mobility and integrated messaging options, ease-of-use, greater control, convergence, and system access via a Web portal," says David Lemelin, In-Stat analyst. "However, it's worth noting that growth in this market lags significantly behind the dynamic growth we have seen with Broadband VoIP in the US."

A recent report by In-Stat found the following:

--Enhanced feature sets, particularly forwarding service that allow users to always be found and unified messaging that allows control over email and voicemail via a web portal, are beginning to drive demand.

--A Fall 2005 In-Stat survey of over 1000 randomly selected business telecom decision-makers indicated that upwards of 30% of medium and enterprise businesses have at least experimented with IP Centrex/Hosted PBX solutions.

--The market is focused on customers with 10 to 300 end-users per location. The sweet spot is SME customers in the 25-60-seat-per-location range.

The report, "Steady Growth Ahead for Hosted VoIP Solutions US IP Centrex/Hosted PBX Services" (#IN0501848BD), covers the market for IP Centrex/Hosted PBX. It provides analysis of market drivers and challenges, and of opportunities in vertical and horizontal markets, along with available pricing options. It also includes a forecast through 2009 and profiles of leading solutions providers and service providers.

For more information on this report, please visit: http://www.instat.com/catalog/Pcatalogue.asp?id=205 or contact Erin McKeighan at 480-609-4551 or [e-mail]. The report price is $2,495 (US).

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In-Stat (www.in-stat.com) is the leading provider of actionable research, market analysis and forecasts of advanced communications services, infrastructure, end-user devices and semiconductors. Our insights are derived from both a deep technology understanding and comprehensive research, which examines each segment of the value chain for each market. Technology vendors, service providers, technology professionals and market specialists, worldwide, rely on In-Stat's tenured, experienced staff and in-depth research to support critical business, product and technology decisions.

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