Abstract
This study examines the impact of convergence in the small and medium business
market, focusing on voice and data convergence, the appeal it has on the SMB
market, as well as the evolution of the offering targeting this particular
market segment. The qualitative analysis is complemented by quantitative data
focused on understanding how well VoIP has been received by the SMB market,
what plans have been made in terms of future adoption and the perceived main
benefits of and inhibitors to voice and data convergence adoption. Results are
derived from IDC' s Vertical Market Survey based on a sample of 1,473 SMBs.
Results are divided by company size (20-49, 50-99, 100-249, 250-499 employees)
in the top 5 Western European countries in the following vertical markets:
banking; insurance and other finance; discrete manufacturing; process
manufacturing; healthcare services; transport, telecommunications, media, and
utilities; retail and wholesale; business services; education; government.
"Reduced costs and, more importantly, reduced complexity determined by the
single point of accountability of VoIP deployments, are the two immediate
elements that service providers wanting to make the most of market
opportunities in the SMB space must focus their marketing campaign on. Still,
underlining the impact that VoIP has on overall productivity is crucial to
build on longer-term success,' ' said Nina Bonagura, senior research analyst
with IDC' s European Vertical Markets service.
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