The South African market for private branch exchange (PBX), converged branch exchange (CBX) and other voice switching technology showed an 8% revenue growth last year, up 3% from 2003 revenue, reports ICT market research firm BMI-TechKnowledge.
In its latest Voice Technology Systems Report, BMI-T attributes the growth to deeper penetration in the SME market.
The size of the local market for PBX, LAN-IP equipment and other corporate voice switching technology was R1.4 billion in 2004, up from R1.3 billion in 2003, excluding exports and sales to call centres, says Daniel Padiachy, telecoms analyst at BMI-T.
"In revenue terms, the market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.6% per annum over the period 2005 to 2009. This growth in the market can be attributed to average selling prices remaining fairly flat, migration from analogue to digital units over the forecasted term as well as the uptake of CBX technology, "adds Padiachy.
Softswitch uptake
The report also says the South African softswitch market is still in the introductory phase of its lifecycle with many factors affecting the uptake of this type of technology.
Although in its early growth stages, this technology could be set to become a major driver of future network roll-outs, where businesses implement sophisticated solutions to drive their ICT costs down while enhancing the operations and customers services.
"However, the South African softswitches market is competing against lack of user knowledge, sweating of existing assets, lack of demand in the applications space and the high costs associated with implementing a fully IP network," says Padiachy.
Call centre growth
The South African call centre market is expected to grow at an above average rate over the next few years as various initiatives get under way to lower the current ICT cost and promote the country in a favourable light as an outsourced destination site. However, high cost due to state-controlled Telkom`s virtual monopoly of the fixed-line market is dampening foreign investors` outlook on the cost-effectiveness of entering SA, he says.
The introduction of the second national operator may be seen as government`s initiative to liberalise the telecoms industry and open up the market for competition, thereby lowering the cost of ICT locally, he concludes.
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