Real-World IP Telephony: A Look at What Midsize and Large Companies Really Spend

Although line shipments for IP telephony have outstripped TDM for some time, many organizations have not yet fully replaced their TDM phones. In fact, only 17% of companies have fully deployed the technology, and the bulk of those are small and midsize businesses. Shifting focus to larger organizations, most have rolled out the technology in a spotty manner—to new locations, where the TDM system is end-of-life, or for some other tactical reason. IT organizations are scrutinizing when and why they should replace their TDM systems, despite the fact that IP telephony has been a commercial offering for 15 years now. They are evaluating the economics, as well as whether it makes sense to invest in desktop IP phones when people increasingly rely on mobile devices and soft clients. In other cases, organizations (whether fully deployed or not) have reached their second or third upgrades of their existing IP-telephony systems—and many are using those milestones as an opportunity to re-evaluate the market. And, as they solidify their unified-communications plans, they are once again contemplating their go-forward strategy for IPT. Will they use the same vendor(s)? Will they shift to a hosted- or managed-services model? And what is the true business case? Understanding the true costs is crucial to a successful business case—and a cost-effective implementation