r

r

r

August 27, 2001 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) – Despite
r

a general slowdown in other communication technology
r

sectors, Voice over IP (VoIP) equipment sales continued
r

their strong growth throughout the first half of 2001,
r

according to reports by Synergy Research Group
r

(synergyresearchgroup.com).
r

r

In Q2 and 1H reports released by Synergy, growth for
r

packet-based voice equipment outpaced other technology
r

sectors.
r

r

In the first half of 2001, VoIP equipment sales
r

represented $784 million, an increase of over 40
r

percent over the same period a year ago. Ranked in
r

order with respective market shares, the top five
r

equipment manufacturers contributing to this growth
r

were:
r

r

r

1. Cisco 40.6%
r

r

2. Clarent 12.4%
r

r

3. Sonus 12.3%
r

r

4. 3Com 10.5%
r

r

5. Lucent 2.9%
r

r

r

r

Synergy attributes this strong performance, in the
r

midst of a more volatile general market, to the
r

revolutionary proposition that VoIP technology poses
r

for the management of traditional voice calls, as well
r

as the evolutionary nature of the technology’s
r

deployment.
r

r

In Q2 2001, sales of Enterprise VoIP equipment reached
r

$203 million, rising 87 percent from the same quarter
r

last year. Driving this growth is demand for LAN
r

Telephony (also known as IP PBXs) which are displacing
r

traditional PBX sales, as well as an increase in the
r

number of enterprise equipment shipping with voice
r

DSPs.
r

r

Synergy tracks the LAN telephony market in two major
r

segments: Enterprise Class (supporting over 100 IP
r

phones) and Small Business Class (supporting under 100
r

IP phones).
r

r

In the service provider arena, VoIP continues to
r

demonstrate sizeable opportunity. As carriers seek to
r

build out more cost effective and flexible networks,
r

the equipment markets for VoIP Gateways, Soft
r

Switches, SS7 IP Gateways and ICD Gateways will stay
r

consistent with their proven growth trends.
r

r

Sales for this equipment segment were $196 million in
r

Q2 2001 and voice port shipments grew to 1.2 million
r

ports up 81 percent from the prior period.
r

r

In the quarter, the top five manufacturers for Service
r

Provider VoIP revenues, ranked in order with
r

respective market shares, were:
r

r

r

1. Sonus 25.2%
r

r

2. Clarent 22.6%
r

r

3. Cisco 21.5%
r

r

4. 3Com 9.3%
r

r

5. Lucent 5.8%
r

r

r

r

The top three players all remained within five market
r

share points of each other, exemplifying the extreme
r

competitive nature of this market. Synergy believes
r

this pressure will intensify, especially given the
r

reduction of CLECs from the year ago period, as well
r

as increased competition from an emerging base of new
r

competitors in this market.
r

r

Moving into the second half of 2001, Synergy Research
r

Group expects to see consistency in the Voice over IP
r

markets with stable growth as major players in the
r

market continue to aggressively compete, hone their
r

survival skills and seek market dominance in a market
r

which Synergy expects to exceed $1.5 billion by year end.

No related posts.