New Report Documents Increasing Popularity of SIP Trunking

Infonetics Research is an international market research and consulting firm that helps clients navigate the global communications market. The firm, known for its accurate forecasts, provides a wide range of communications related data and analysis. Their latest report, titled the 2014 SIP Trunking and E-SBC (Enterprise Session Border Control) Strategies: North American Survey, examined current SIP usage as well as future plans for implementation.

Three of Four Businesses will Use SIP by 2016

According to the firm’s research, half of companies it surveyed use SIP trunking today, with that number increasing to 78 percent by 2016.  Survey respondents report turning to SIP to gain the advantages of centralized trunking, reliability, and quick deployment. T1 use, is expected to decrease, but not to disappear.  “SIP trunking is becoming more mainstream with North American businesses, but it’s important to remember that few companies have done a 100% cutover,” said Diane Myers, principal analyst for VoIP, UC, and IMS at Infonetics Research “This represents a significant opportunity long term for SIP trunking.”

Impediments to Adoption Are Not Related to SIP Technology

An interesting finding of the study is that most of the reasons business give for not having adopted a SIP solution are not related to SIP technology itself. In fact, the barriers are really about respondents’ current situations.  For example, many are satisfied with their existing voice services.  For others their voice service contracts aren’t up for renewal, or SIP trunks aren’t offered at the desired location.  As these situations change over time, the adoption of SIP will continue to accelerate.

Findings Consistent with VoIP Research

The rise in SIP trunking adoption goes hand in hand with the rise of VoIP, which, along with unified communications, will grow to $88 billion by 2018, according to an earlier Infonetics report.  Businesses increasingly favor VoIP for the same reasons they are embracing SIP. Both solutions let companies pay only for what they need and use, both are scalable in either direction, and both involve minimal capital expense.  These traits make the technologies well suited for startups, SMBs, and large enterprises.

The popularity of SIP trunking has changed the business communications landscape, giving businesses increased flexibility, reduced costs and a scalable infrastructure. It’s a critical facet of the modern telephony environment and an important communications strategy consideration for businesses of all sizes.