IP lines for the PBX market are forecasted to decline for the first time ever in 2009, according to a new report from Dell’Oro Group. Notwithstanding, VoIP penetration will continue to grow this year, albeit at a slower pace compared to the previous years.
“For 2009, we anticipate a degree of vendor volatility that will cause many customers to stay on the sidelines for a longer period of time than we would expect if downward pressure was coming only from the weakened economy,” commented Alan Weckel, Director at Dell’Oro Group. “Also, as customers look to alleviate budget constraints, IP line growth will slow in the short term, putting additional downward pressure on the market. In the current environment, some customers will hold on to existing analog and digital lines for a longer period of time,” Weckel added.
According to the report, Cisco, Avaya and Nortel had the most IP line shipments in the quarter. The report also revealed that despite VoIP transforming the industry for over a decade, the IP line shipments for the eight largest vendors in the market, namely Aastra, Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, NEC, Nortel and Siemens averaged only 49 percent of total line shipments in the quarter.
