Step into the Light With the Help of Cloud-based Communications Including Virtual PBX

If you own a small to mid-sized business, you might not realize that by implementing cloud-based services such as a virtual PBX, your company will be ushered into the light and see many positive results included increased efficiency and reduced costs. And hey, what organization this day couldn’t benefit from being able to save some vital capital?

The increasing popularity of the virtual PBX industry specifically within the small business space was until pretty recently rather stagnant due to the fact that many firms in this space were worried about the upfront costs needed to get a system like that up and running. In fact, as revealed by Dan Bieler, an analyst at research firm Forrester, approximately 1 out of 10 businesses of this size use cloud-based communications at this time.

Although clearly some cloud-based voice offerings are taking longer to build in numbers, Bieler predicts that as virtual PBXs continue to show their vitality, enterprises will continue to jump on board and adopt them. Extremely interesting is the fact that as the mobile device management trend gains in popularity, companies will realizes that without a virtual PBX in place, this initiative could cause their network to be completely overburdened.

He added, “Vendors are aware of this and are already working on expanding their mobile device integration.”

 Reporting a four percent sales increase during the first quarter of 2012, the virtual PBX industry could see some steady growth in the form of new businesses entering into the vertical. For example, j2 Global Communications, the company that powers eVoice, revealed that it has seen its highest revenues ever in Q4 of 2011, raising 20 percent or $14 million. In addition, Comcast’s newly introduced Business VoiceEdge, a service to be made available all over the country by the end of 2012, will likely have a very good effect on the expansion of PBXs.

 When looking outside of the United States, virtual PBXs are continuing to soar like an eagle, with the Caribbean and Latin region boasting sales that have increased by 18 percent in the first quarter of 2012 from first quarter 2011, and the Asia Pacific region growing by 16 percent in first quarter of 2012.

While virtual PBXs may be taking the turtle approach to winning the race rather than the rabbit, forecasts predict this market will only continue to gain traction as businesses take the steps needed to remain ahead of competitors and meet increasing demands from customers all over the world.  

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

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Edited by Allison Boccamazzo