While the evolution in the telecommunications space has been nothing short of exciting over the past few years, the standard methods through which customers talk with companies, colleagues collaborate and sales people converse with customers are still important. We still want to pick up the phone to connect; we’re just using different technology to accomplish the connection.

Even specialty tech giants like those of the “Silicon Slopes” can’t do everything on their own – especially in the still youthful cloud market. As companies search for more efficient and effect ways to communicate, the implementation of SIP trunking and enterprise session border controllers is on the rise. Companies and their IT staff aim to satisfy the need for the IP softswitch to support next-generation communications in a dynamic market.

According to Infonetics (News - Alert) (News - Alert) (News- Alert) Research, the enterprise SBC industry is on a steady path of growth as the adoption of the IP softswitch continues to increase. The company’s Enterprise Session Border Controllers market size and forecast report suggests an 88-percent increase in SIP trunks, the primary technology adoption driving the need for enterprise SBCs.

As companies search for more efficient and effect ways to communicate, the implementation of SIP trunking and enterprise session border controllers is on the rise. Companies and their IT staff aim to satisfy the need for the IP softswitch to support next-generation communications in a dynamic market.

According to Infonetics (News - Alert) Research, the enterprise SBC industry is on a steady path of growth as the adoption of the IP softswitch continues to increase. The company’s Enterprise Session Border Controllers market size and forecast report suggests an 88-percent increase in SIP trunks, the primary technology adoption driving the need for enterprise SBCs.

Infonetics suggests the business for global enterprise SBCs will grow to reach $527 million by 2016.

"The market for enterprise session border controllers jumped 60 percent in 2011 and will grow significantly over the coming years as the adoption of SIP trunking continues to expand," said Diane Myers, directing analyst for VoIP and IMS at Infonetics Research (News - Alert) (News - Alert). "The enterprise SBC market is a sweet spot in the enterprise market because they fill a growing need for security, interoperability and network border traversal."

Experts at Infonetics expect SBCs will eventually replace the VoIP gateways in place today to support the IP softswitch. The majority of the eSBC market is located in North America, although this share of the global revenue is expected to decline as other regions recognize the value in and adopt SIP trunks. Throughout the entire market, Acme Packet (News - Alert) (News - Alert) continues to be the leader, claiming 34 percent of the revenue share.

The biggest drivers in this space include the demand for increased flexibility in converged markets. This is especially true in the VoIP market as companies leverage the IP softswitch with VoIP technology to enjoy easier management and flexibility in communications.

In fact, 42 percent of enterprises in North America play to use SIP trunking by 2014, and $22 billion will be spent on telepresence and video conferencing over the next five years.

As Infonetics studies the SBC and IP softswitch markets, the company is analyzing regional and worldwide market size. The research firm tracks specific providers in the process, including Adtran, Acme Packet, NET, ONEAccess, Ingate, GENBAND, Edgewater, Cisco, Avaya (News - Alert) (News - Alert), AudioCodes, Dialogic (News - Alert), Sonus and Siemens Enterprise.

Edited by Braden Becker