T3i Group Reports Double-Digit Global Messaging Shipment Growth Despite Economic Downturn

All global regions experienced growth; North America led with 23%, followed by EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) with 16%.

Parsippany, NJ (PRWEB) May 13, 2009 -- T3i Group's latest InfoTrack for Converged Applications research on voice and unified messaging (UM) found that global mailbox shipments increased by almost 3 million, a robust 17%, in 2008. Manufacturer revenue, however, grew only 8%, to $1.175 billion.

In addition, UM shipments last year were up 67% and UM revenues grew 41% compared with 2007. Avaya led in global revenues, followed by Nortel and Cisco.

Promotional activity in all regions, most notably in North America, contributed to the shipment surge and to the decrease in the average price per mailbox. Four major manufacturers drove the growth by discounting and bundling UM mailboxes. T3i Group's analysis of individual manufacturers' shipments and revenues showed revenue per UM mailbox decreased, on average, by more than 15% in 2008.

"The United States is a mature market, so manufacturers must upgrade their installed bases and cut prices to spur messaging system sales and to retain customers," said Ken Dolsky, Senior Program Director at T3i Group. "How long this growth trend can continue remains to be seen, especially with the economy forcing enterprises to cut growth plans that could have required additional messaging capabilities."

All global regions experienced growth; North America led with 23%, followed by EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) with 16%. T3i Group's growth estimates include shipments of Microsoft Exchange 2007 UM seats for the United States and EMEA. However, T3i Group's five-year regional forecast for messaging shipments and revenues by UM and voice technology predicts a steep decline for 2009 in North American shipments and a more modest global drop in excess of 10% from the record high reported in 2008.

"While promotions have made it easier for customers to justify the economics of UM, and have certainly been successful at increasing UM penetration, acceptance of the UM value proposition still remains a challenge," commented Dolsky.

T3i Group also published its latest enterprise and SMB (small to medium business) primary research report on acceptance of Microsoft's Exchange Server 2007 UM product. The research found that among those who had purchased Exchange Server 2007 UM, satisfaction was high. Overall, however, three-fourths of respondents, both enterprise and SMB, indicated little or no interest in the product. Two major reasons given for not purchasing were lack of need to migrate to Exchange 2007 and a preference to obtain UM from voice system providers.

About the InfoTrack for Converged Applications (ICA) Program

InfoTrack for Converged Applications analyzes and forecasts UC application shipments, installed base, revenues and share globally and regionally by six size segments. Separate databases address Messaging, Contact Centers (systems, hosted) and Interactive Voice Response. For more information about the ICA program or this report, please visit http://www.telecomweb.com/marketresearch/convergedapps/ or contact Bonnie Fairbrother, bfairbrother@t3igroup.com or (973) 602-0181 or Dennis Kelly, dkelly@t3igroup.com or (973) 602-0180.

About T3i Group LLC

T3i Group LLC provides market research, data, analysis, and consulting and advisory services to the telecommunications industry. It has clients in 46 countries and conducts its business through four operating units: InfoTrack, which publishes reports that analyze shipment, revenue, market share and other pertinent data of importance to telecommunications equipment manufacturers; TelecomTactics, which maintains a database of the features and functionality of major telephony systems; Tarifica, which maintains a database of pricing-related information covering 400 telecommunications carriers operating in 130 countries; and TelecomWeb (www.telecomweb.com), which serves as T3i Group's primary delivery mechanism for distributing its reports, analyses and data to subscribers.

T3i Group LLC is headquartered in Parsippany, NJ; with additional offices in New York City, London, England and Cherry Hill, NJ.

Press Contact: Debra Baker, (301) 905-7703

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