MIA Samsung Telecommunications continues to hold a significant portion of the PBX market. According to a report by the BMI-TechKnowledge group, MIA Samsung Telecommunications has a 12.4% market share, only 3.7% less than Marconi, a major Telkom supplier. In revenue terms, BMI-T predicts that the PBX market will grow at a nominal compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3% per annum between 2000 and 2005. Although 2001 was a less productive year than 2000 in terms of year-on-year growth, the total market grew by 2.7%.
"The growth rate in terms of units is generally lower than the revenue growth, because end-users are switching from the cheaper analogue PBXs to the more expensive digital PBXs," the report states. "This is expected to accelerate as the price of the digital units continues to decline. Also `aiding` the growth in revenue is inflation. The exception to this trend is the new technologies, where unit growth is higher than revenue growth, as prices are expected to decrease as the technologies develop.
"The CBX (LAN, IP, PC, Server PBXs) market will experience slower growth than anticipated due to bandwidth limitations in South Africa and regulatory issues surrounding IP telephony. Another reason why CBXs will not erode the rest of the market as quickly as was anticipated is that most new digital-PBX shipments are IP-enabled. In essence therefore the IP-PBX will not necessarily be a separate unit but merely an augmentation of an existing digital PBX."
After many years of stability, the South African PBX market has entered a period of uncertainty, the report continues. "The emergence of voice over IP (VoIP) has created the potential for an industry-wide transition from traditional circuit-switched PBXs to server-based systems over an IP infrastructure. Although IP-based PBX uptake in South Africa is far from being significant yet, many users have slowed investments in their existing PBX networks as they evaluate the advantages of buying VoIP systems and wait for possible deregulation and cheaper bandwidth."
The emergence of VoIP has raised the question - will VoIP systems displace the PBX-installed base or will the PBX be able to evolve with VoIP? Malcolm Driessel, CEO of MIA Samsung Telecommunications, strongly advises companies not to throw out their PBX systems just yet. Gateway technology has made it possible for the PBX to evolve with VoIP, he says, which means companies are now able to take advantage of the best of both worlds.
"The Internet is the emerging business tool of the future and the world market is definitely heading towards the IP scenario," says Driessel. "While interest in IP telephony is fueled by promises of lower total cost of ownership and increased return on investment, BMI-T states that IP phones and infrastructure do not yet provide clear cost savings or ROI against traditional analogue and digital PBXs."
Rather than upgrading the network to VoIP over a period of time, which demands a substantial capital investment, Driessel proposes seamlessly integrating the existing network into emerging VoIP technology using a gateway. "This can be done at a fraction of the cost and with minimal disruption to the organisation. Consequently, capital expenditure is minimised, and turned into manageable operating expenditure."
The system incorporates integrated VoIP trunks, which allow it to function as a "gateway" to the Internet. This feature can provide voice communications via the Internet or over any existing IP-based LAN or WAN. Additionally, the use of open international standards ensures that the gateway is compatible with equipment located at other sites.
"By implementing a gateway, companies can IP-enable their existing equipment, and thus derive all the benefits of IP telephony, including substantial cost savings because calls are now made over the Internet," Driessel explains. "Additionally, the system is fully interoperable with any new technology that is released over the following five to seven years. Should any PBX phone reach the end of its life cycle during this time, it can be replaced with an IP phone, thus ensuring that the company always remains at the forefront of emerging technology."
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