News

Time Has Come for the IP PBX

• By Scott Bekker
• 08/25/2005

According to In-Stat research released this week, shipments of IP PBX lines are expected to exceed shipments of traditional PBX lines this year. By 2009, In-Stat predicts that IP PBX lines will account for 91 percent of new lines shipped.

That dominance of IP PBX lines will come even as the total PBX market grows at a rate of 6.6 percent -- a rate fueled by far more rapid growth of IP PBX lines and a related fall off of the traditional PBX. Shipments of IP PBX lines are expected to increase from 9.5 million lines now to 28.1 million lines in 2009, In-Stat predicts.

"The IP PBX is revealing itself as more than a simple one-for-one replacement vehicle for digital systems," Norm Bogen, In-Stat analyst, said in a statement. "With closer ties to data, this new vehicle is influencing corporate power structures and will ultimately have even more far-reaching effects on how business is done around the globe."

Bogen predicts IP PBX lines will be used in the near future to spur increased mobility within and beyond the workplace and to add more data and ultimately video to the mix of collaboration tools.