"The above 100 extensions market grew by 20% and the 101 to 250 extensions market, which struggled in Q1 2005, demonstrated the most growth this time around, with IP technology clearly stimulating this market segment. The below 100 extensions market is still lagging a little, as volumes declined by 1% compared to Q2 2004. Even so, the volume of systems sold rose by 1%, suggesting that, as new products are launched, there is still room for growth here. The 31 to 50 extensions market bucked the overall trend below 100 extensions and managed to notch up 3% growth compared to Q2 2004."
The successes in the markets above 100 extensions meant that the trend seen in Q1 2005 of a shift of the overall market towards the above 100 extensions segments continued in Q2 2005. These markets accounted for 37% of all extensions shipped in the UK, compared to 33% recorded in Q2 2004. The total amount of extensions sold in the UK in Q2 2005 was just under 640,000.
BT continues to lead and improved on their share of the supplier market, accounting for 24% of extensions shipped, up from 22% registered in Q2 2004. Nortel meanwhile still dominates in the manufacturer market share table. Avaya was ranked second in Q2 2005 and Cisco Systems came in to claim the number three spot.
The picture is slightly different in the below 100 extensions market, where Panasonic maintain a steady 18% share of the market, followed by Nortel and then Avaya with 12%. The second quarter of 2005 saw Cisco Systems leading in the above 100 extensions market, whereas they were number three back in Q2 2004. Nortel is ranked second in this market, followed by Avaya. In the supplier market, BT improved their market share compared to Q2 2004, which was up by 2 percentage points.
Out of the manufacturers, Panasonic shipped the most systems in Q2 2005 due to their prominence in the below 100 extensions market.
The IP Extensions Market
Q2 2005 witnessed healthy growth in the volume of IP extensions shipped in the UK PBX market both in the below and above 100 extensions markets, with overall volumes up by 82% compared to Q2 2004. IP extensions accounted for almost 23% of the total extensions that were shipped in the UK market and Cisco Systems accounts for over half of these extensions, which puts them at the forefront of the UK manufacturers for IP extensions.
Mitel comes in second, with a 20% market share, while Nortel takes third place. BT supplied over 20% of IP extensions to the UK market in Q2 2005, which again is a robust improvement compared to Q2 2004. Growth in IP was slower in the below 100 extensions markets in comparison to the above 100 extensions markets, although the lower market segments, which have showed some disappointing growth rates in previous quarters, is also beginning to pick up pace.