One of the biggest changes in market dynamics has been in the Eastern European region, which previously had been experiencing buoyant levels of growth. The trend has reversed as all markets in this region suffer heavy declines, especially Russia and Hungary.
On the upside, Middle East and Africa continued to register growth (albeit of a modest 2%), while the Asia Pacific region (including Japan) also demonstrated 2% growth, with declines in some more mature markets being offset by growth in other markets such as China. MZA figures also show that the worldwide penetration of IP extensions into total deployments at the desktop has now reached 25%, up from 21% in Q4 2007. This market area continues to experience double digit growth in spite of falls in the overall corded PBX market. The report reveals that Cisco, Panasonic and NEC attained the greatest market shares at a global level.
The below 100 extensions segments have performed less well than enterprise segments, where, worldwide, the decline in the market averaged 10%. Contrastingly, the above 100 extensions market dipped by only 1% in comparison to Q4 2007. This means that manufacturers who have a greater focus on the below 100 extensions market have so far experienced tougher market conditions as a result of the global macroeconomic environment.
Panasonic continue to lead in the below 100 extensions market and maintain their 17% market share. In the above 100 extensions market, Cisco is the market leader with a 24% market share, followed by Avaya. Nortel captured 10% of the above 100 extensions market in Q4 2008.
Global IP Extensions Market
North America still leads the market for IP deployments, with more than 1.5 million extensions deployed to the desktop this quarter, compared to 1.2 million in Western Europe. This means that North America has now achieved a penetration rate of 52%, up from 41% in the same quarter of last year. This compares to 29% penetration in Western Europe, which is ahead of the global average, which sits at around a quarter of extensions deployed.
Overall, the IP extensions market grew by 15% compared to Q4 2007, with the highest growth rate witnessed in the Asia Pacific region. The growth rate in North America remains in double digits compared to the same quarter of last year at 13%. Cisco continues to lead the IP extensions market, followed by Avaya and Mitel.