The UK PBX market - a review in 2012

Where is the market is going?

Full UC trend continues

The structural trend towards full UC is continuing with vendors packaging more UC features into their standard offering.  The Vertical Communications Wave and Microsoft Lync CPE solutions both offer a mobility solution for mobile phones.    

Downwards for price

However, a key trend to emerge in this market since the start of the year is the downward pressure on the price performance curve.  In the last quarter vendors have launched CPE solutions with increased functionality and higher connectivity at price points which drive the solution down the price performance curve.   

The new FortiVoice IP-PBX

Vertical Communications has bundled 5 years warranty and a free BYOD app with its CPE Wave IP, Fortinet has rebundled and renamed the TalkSwitch CPE solution in a new offering called FortiVoice with offers a substantially lower cost per line for the end user.

Longterm this downwards pressure on the price performance curve will have the effect of tightening the market those in the channel with solutions which are not value competitive.

 

Integrated application- BYOD functionality

True Out-of-the-Box integration is rare in the CPE market but a few vendors are beginning to bundle applications with their solution.

The focus seems to be on BYOD functionality and UC capability for BYOD.  The top vendors are Microsoft with its Lync platform and Vertical Communications with tis Wave solution.  Both offer free mobile apps which extend the capability of the CPE PBX to the mobile phone. 

The Wave BYOD solution is so integrated with the CPE that a call made by a mobile phone user is indistinguishable from one originating from a desk handset.

Hosted telephony & its impact on CPE solutions

CPE business to continue

Hosted solutions have not traditionally competed with the CPE solutions distributed by ICON and long-term the impact on of hosted solutions our Channel Partner CPE business is not expected to change radically from what it is today.    

ICON has always acknowledged the importance of hosted solution in the marketplace but is of the view that this is not a disruptive technology.  Longterm it is unlikely that the market will migrate to hosted solutions.  

The reasons to buy hosted

The motivation for hosted as opposed a CPE solution is driven by the financial imperatives of the firm not its communications requirements.  Hosted or not hosted decision is firmly based in the firms need to manage Capex by using Opex.  The only scenario in which hosted solutions will displace CPE equipment is as a result of some financial imperative which makes investment in non Capex solutions attractive.  A fiscal policy which favoured Opex solutions would have this impact but in the medium term is not likely.

Accreditations costs - slipping out of control?

As distributor for a range of global brands ICON has always recognised that the cost of accreditation can be a formidable barrier to the Channel taking up a solution. When you need to guarantee a certain percentage of staff skilled in the solution and hold stock this can be a significant capital expense even for an established firm.   

High accreditation costs have the effect of tying a reseller into a vendor restricting the options for growth.   

In the UK ICON has provided one of the most open accreditation schemes available.  Its solution training and accreditation for its Vertical, and Fortinet IP-PBX solutions have always been delivered at subsidised cost.