There is strong deployment of IP Centrex services in all regions of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, according to a new study on Business VoIP – and the related topic of PBX systems – from communications market research firm Infonetics (News - Alert) Research.

Infonetics Research recently released its EMEA Business VoIP Services Leadership Matrix, which analyzes and ranks the top IP Centrex service providers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

“In evaluating the top 10 IP Centrex providers across the region, we found the list dominated by incumbent operators. This is reflective of the services landscape in EMEA, which consists of providers competing nationally rather than regionally, resulting in few of the top 10 providers competing against each other. The most interesting result is the growing success of providers focused on FMC (fixed-mobile convergence) capabilities, capitalizing on the trend of businesses moving more employees to only mobile devices,” said Diane Myers, directing analyst for service provider VoIP and IMS at Infonetics Research (News - Alert).

In addition:

•There are over 100 service providers offering business VoIP services in EMEA and new ones being added every quarter.

•Providers with IP Centrex service offerings in multiple countries have an edge in terms of total subscribers or seats due to the size of their network footprints.

•The top EMEA IP Centrex service providers overall are, in no particular order: T-Systems, BT, and Vodafone (News - Alert).

•There is a growing list of providers close behind this top 10 across Western and Eastern Europe and also Africa, signaling continuing strength in IP Centrex across the region.

•Unlike in North America, where IP Centrex providers are predominantly competitive operators with financial constraints, financial stability is a non-factor in analyzing the top 10 providers in EMEA.

•While in North America only a few providers have broken the 100,000-seat mark, the top providers in EMEA are all close to or exceed 100,000 IP Centrex seats.

Service providers ranked in the EMEA Business VoIP Services Leadership Matrix include Bezeq, BT, Orange, Netia (News - Alert), SFR, TDC, Telefonica O2, Telenor, T-Systems, and Vodafone.

The matrix ranks the top IP Centrex (business VoIP services) providers in EMEA based on criteria critical to determining market leadership, including number of IP Centrex subscribers/seats, financial stability, market strategy, service capabilities, and support options. The leadership matrix determines which service providers currently lead the market and are best positioned to succeed long-term.