IP makes PBX gains - and so does Cisco

Pure IP systems are accounting for twice as many customer premises telephony equipment shipments worldwide in the second quarter of this year compared to last.

However, that doubling is only from 3 to 5.9 per cent of units shipped, with hybrid-IP equipment leading the way - at 52.7 per cent of the total - and traditional voice-only PBXes coming in at 41.4 per cent.

The latest figures from researchers at Canalys also show the usual suspect vendors heading the best seller league table. The top five are, in order, is Nortel (commanding 12.3 per cent share), Siemens (12 per cent), Avaya (10.9 per cent), Alcatel (7.8 per cent) and Ericsson (3.8 per cent).

Those outside the top six account for 50.3 per cent, while in sixth place is a company that Canalys note "will cause the established telephony equipment vendors some concern" - Cisco.

The market for voice PBXs - the exchanges that act like servers for voice lines in companies, routing calls, handling extensions and so on - has traditionally been dominated by a handful of large telecoms vendors. However, Cisco has approached the market from its position as the leading provider of computer networking equipment, with a strong IP pedigree.

Canalys points out that BT earlier this year signed a letter of intent with Cisco - even though Avaya and Nortel are also major partners - for the provision of converged IP services. However, the analysts also note that the UK lacks a strong, home-grown enterprise equipment vendor - with a number of Cisco's competitors being national champions in countries such as France, Germany and Sweden - meaning BT is arguably more open to the US company's approach.