According to new data from ABI Research, enterprises are ramping up their investments in VoIP technologies, both on customer premises equipment and hosted VoIP. VoIP technologies are part of enterprise communications products and services that include fixed mobile convergence, contact center, IP/TDM PBX, messaging, and conferencing and collaboration. The integrated unified communications suites market, which was adversely affected by the economy, is also poised to see some consistent growth to reach revenues of $4.8 billion by 2015.

IP PBX vendors are expected to ship just over 35 million IP lines (including native IP and hybrid lines) worldwide during 2010. IP telephony shipments will continue to see robust growth throughout the forecast period as enterprise communications systems converge on the IP platform.

However overall VoIP revenue growth is also due to a brisk competitive environment between CPE vendors and hosted VoIP service providers. Both camps are using product differentiation, attractive pricing, and improved customer service to win and keep customers.

Hosted VoIP services are buoyed by an additional set of drivers including the slow economic recovery, employee mobilization, and a more distributed workforce. This especially applies to the North American market.

Senior analyst Subha Rama says, “Even large businesses that traditionally shied away from hosted services for mission-critical communications are deploying hybrid models, experimenting with hosted services in smaller doses.”

Practice director Dan Shey points out that, “Hosted VoIP is a ‘safe investment’ and offers flexibility for businesses in a slow, uncertain economic recovery. Consequently, hosted IP PBX services are expected to finish the year with a 15.3% increase in revenue to $3.4 billion, worldwide. Besides North America, Asia-Pacific will also be aggressive with hosted VoIP deployments.”

ABI Research’s Enterprise Communications Market Data provides worldwide and regional shipment, ASP and revenue forecasts for the VoIP market including premises-based telephony, hosted business VoIP services, VoIP integrated access and SIP trunking. It also includes forecasts for other unified communications technologies in the categories of fixed-mobile convergence, contact centers, messaging, and conferencing and collaboration. Further segmentation is provided for both vertical and size of business markets.

It forms part of the firm’s Enterprise Communications Research Service.