Mobile network operators in particular will have to work hard to slow the decline in enterprise voice revenues in the face of technology that can allow companies to bypass their more expensive services.
"Companies are spending over 80% of their call bill on mobile services, and that is causing them to turn to new technology looking for savings," says the report's author, Margaret Hopkins. "Wireless gateways, VoIP and WiFi offer them ways of cutting this bill that are independent of the network operators. Operators need to come up with innovative services to minimise the revenue leakage."
Key findings from the new report include:
- Mobile operators should launch corporate home-zone services based on femtocells to reduce the demand for dual-mode cellular/WiFi phones that will take traffic and revenue away from their networks
- Corporate communications managers gain most by combining corporate mobile packages with VoIP on WiFi and using dual-mode phones and wireless gateways to reduce roaming bills and fixed-to-mobile charges. [graphs available to editors on request]
- Dual-mode phones will account for 14% of handsets sold to enterprise customers in 2012 and there will be 4 million in use in Europe at that date.