Cloud Telephony's Silver Lining Is in the SMB Market, Report Finds

NEW YORK, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Network operators are aggressively targeting small and midsized businesses as the primary market for emerging cloud telephony services, positioning cloud telephony as an economical way to take advantage of a full range of advanced applications such as unified communications, according to the latest report from Heavy Reading IP Services Insider (www.lightreading.com/entvoip), a paid research service of TechWeb's Light Reading (www.lightreading.com).

Cloud Telephony: The Battle Over SMBs examines the cloud telephony market, including how it is defined, a comparative analysis of the solutions, market strengths and strategies, and market drivers. The report also explores the benefits that can be achieved for carriers, vendors, and enterprises. Additionally, the report provides a competitive analysis of nine leading vendors in the cloud telephony industry, as well as the trends they expect to see in the future.

For a list of companies covered in this report, please see:

http://img.lightreading.com/evi/pdf/vsi0210_companies.pdf

"Cloud telephony providers are finding that small business owners are eager to buy services in the cloud, because they do not have the cash for a capital outlay," notes Denise Culver, research analyst for Heavy Reading IP Services Insider and author of the report. "The savings on the opex side – gained by not needing a dedicated IT person to run the system – makes for an even stronger value proposition," she adds.

The next 12 to 18 months are likely to see a significant surge in revenues in the cloud telephony sector, according to sources interviewed for the report. "Voice and other PBX-like services are the biggest offerings, but service providers are becoming more creative with cloud telephony services, providing everything from individual voice applications to payment services," Culver says. "At a time when carriers are seeking ways to differentiate their offerings and improve customer loyalty, cloud telephony seems a natural avenue for them to explore."

Other key findings of Cloud Telephony: The Battle Over SMBs include the following:

• While SMBs are the prime market sector for cloud telephony, operators are also targeting larger enterprises with dispersed branch offices and workforces.
• Real estate and legal firms are emerging as the hottest vertical industries for cloud telephony.
• Increased workforce mobility is driving more interest in applications such as unified communications, making these apps essential to an operator's cloud telephony strategy.
• As cloud telephony gains ground, operators will need to demonstrate adequate security to protect enterprise resources.

Cloud Telephony: The Battle Over SMBs is available as part of an annual single-user subscription (6 issues) to Heavy Reading IP Services Insider, priced at $1,595. Individual reports are available for $900 (single-user license).

To subscribe, or for more information, please visit: www.lightreading.com/entvoip. For more information on all Insider services, please visit www.lightreading.com/research.

To request a free executive summary of the report, or for details on multi-user licensing options, please contact:

About Light Reading

Founded in 2000, Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) is the leading online media, research, and focused event company serving the $3 trillion worldwide communications market. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for technological and financial analysis of the communications industry, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading's research arms, Heavy Reading and Pyramid Research, provide the most comprehensive communications research, market data, and technology analysis in close to 100 markets around the world. Light Reading produces nearly 20 targeted communications events including TelcoTV, and TelcoTV Asia, Ethernet Expo New York and Ethernet Europe, and The Tower Summit @ CTIA, as well as focused one-day events tailored for cable, mobile, and wireline executives in the US, Europe, India, and China. Light Reading was acquired by United Business Media in August 2005 and operates as a unit of TechWeb.

About TechWeb

TechWeb (techweb.com/aboutus), the global leader in business technology media, is an innovative business focused on serving the needs of technology decision-makers and marketers worldwide. TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed media brands in the business technology market. Today, more than 13.3 million* business technology professionals actively engage in our communities created around our global face-to-face events Interop, Web 2.0, Black Hat and VoiceCon; online resources such as the TechWeb Network, Light Reading, Intelligent Enterprise, InformationWeek.com, bMighty.com, and The Financial Technology Network; and the market leading, award-winning InformationWeek, TechNet Magazine, MSDN Magazine, Wall Street & Technology magazines. TechWeb also provides end-to-end services ranging from next-generation performance marketing, integrated media, research, and analyst services. TechWeb is a division of United Business Media, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion.

* 13.3 million business decision-makers: based on # of monthly connections

About United Business Media Limited

UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetization of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities – from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists – with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com.

SOURCE Heavy Reading IP Services Insider