“Growth in IP communications sales is steadily increasing with more customers deploying IP applications – meaning growth in IP is exceeding the decline in TDM. Keen to make the most out of existing telephony systems customers are purchasing systems that support existing legacy functionality and IP (best of both worlds), meaning organisations can migrate to IP at the pace the business dictates. This is perfect for those that aren’t ready to replace their original investment but still want to take advantage of the new functionality that IP offers.
The types of companies in the market for a 30-40 extension system are typically slower adopters of IP communications. The drivers behind implementing an IP infrastructure in this market are often as a result of issues with the incumbent service or if an existing PBX or PBX contract is approaching the end of its life. Having said that adoption is starting to grow and it is becoming an increasingly important market.
Brewer says there is a good year-on-year growth forecast for this sector of the market as IP becomes standard by default.
“With a traditional phone system adding on voice mail, unified messaging and call centre applications required considerable hardware investment. With the Mitel IP Communications Solution it is a lot easier and less costly especially as voice mail, unified messaging and ACD already reside on the Mitel 3300 Communications Platform (ICP). IP communications allow small businesses to improve their company image by simply answering incoming calls like a professional larger organisation at a lower cost, voice mail enables employees to manage and prioritise their calls more effectively, and even more powerful is the ability to extend working hours with a teleworking solution whilst on the financial side preserve cash flow by implementing a single communications solution. At present these benefits may not suffice on their own to force premature product displacement but when the time is right to replace existing solutions they will play their part in encouraging the transition.
Small businesses have the option of selecting an IP solution to install, manage and maintain themselves or opt for a hosted solution which is maintained by a carrier. Mitel provides solutions that fit into both categories.
Scalability and flexibility is key and the Mitel 3300 IP Communications Platform (ICP) is suitable for smaller organisations from 5 users to larger organisations scaling up to 65,000 users.”