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Better communications continue to be in demand throughout the global marketplace. Users are increasingly adopting smartphones to stay on the move. There are multiple channels of communications to help meet consumer demand. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) integrates voice across the data network and is the basis for the hosted softswitch, bringing collaboration capabilities to the next level.

So effective is the delivery of the hosted softswitch that the industry is exploding. According to Infonetics (News - Alert) Research, much of this demand is being driven by the desire for access to VoLTE. The company’s latest vendor market share report, Service Provider VoIP and IMS Equipment and Subscribers shows that VoLTE is positively impacting the service provider VoIP and IMS equipment market.

Researchers at the firm do expect the market to slow this year as operators launch commercial services and draw back on the capacity that has been built over the past year. VoLTE has already been launched by AT&T, PCCW (News - Alert) /HKT and other operators, with others ready to follow. The enterprise is increasingly looking to combine mobile with traditional communication methods that leverage the hosted softswitch.

Still, mobile is only part of the picture. Class 5 equipment spending is expected to expand and greater attention will be placed on SIP Trunking and voice over broadband (VoBB). Users are searching for greater functionality, lower costs and full integration across multiple platforms. Mobile is a key element, but collaboration and real-time communications are also in high demand.

Infonetics highlighted a few elements within its report, including the reality that the worldwide service provider IMS and VoIP equipment revenue reached $992 million in the first quarter of 2014. This represents an increase of 37 percent from the first quarter of 2013, but a sequential decline of 9 percent. In fact, most segments proved to be down on a sequential basis after a strong fourth quarter.

Year-over-year, all regions were up in the first quarter of 2014. The foundation for the growth in IMS was found in Asia Pacific and North America due to mobile operator activity. The standout vendor for this quarter was Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert), thanks to its strong growth in core IMS and voice application server revenue. North America proved to be a strong market for the provider as these technology capabilities become more well-known and demand intensifies.