PBX market research update in 1st Q 2013; globally down, Asia-Pac up

Date: 28/05/2013
Market research firm Infonetics Research released vendor market share and forecasts from its 1st quarter 2013 (1Q13) Enterprise Unified Communications and Voice Equipment report.

“In the first quarter of 2013, enterprise PBX spending dropped to its lowest point since mid-2009,” notes Diane Myers, principal analyst for VoIP, UC, and IMS at Infonetics Research. “The big squeeze is coming from hyper-competitive price pressure all over, with average revenue per line down across the board. But conservative spending by businesses is exacerbating the problem in some regions, while demand is actually flat-to-up in North America and Asia, reflecting uneven economic recoveries.”

Myers adds: “Meanwhile, demand for unified communications is increasing in all regions as businesses seek tools to help them boost employee productivity and flexibility.”

1Q13 ENTERPRISE TELEPHONY MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
The global enterprise PBX market (TDM, hybrid, and pure PBXs) totaled $1.8 billion in 1Q13, down 9% from the previous quarter, and down 10% from the year-ago 1st quarter
Sequentially, Asia Pacific was the lone bright spot, with PBX revenue up 7% in 1Q13 (typically a strong quarter for Asia)
At the other end of the spectrum, licenses for unified communications (UC) are up both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, and revenue is up 21% from the year-ago 1st quarter
The top vendors – Cisco, Avaya, NEC and Siemens in 1Q13 – remain in a battle to gain customers and hold on to existing ones as enterprises migrate to IP and UC solutions
LG Ericsson, Mitel, NEC, and ShoreTel all notched year-over-year revenue gains in 1Q13
Microsoft continues to post gains in the PBX market, leveraging its strength in unified communications