In what has always been forecasted to become a horse race, Infonetics announced that, according to their research, enterprise customers in 2015 will purchase more SIP Trunks than legacy T1 lines. Specifically, after receiving responses from 300 business with at least 101 employees, Infonetics noted that the use of SIP Trunks will grow from today’s 38% to 58% in 2015. Correspondingly, T1 Lines are forecasted to decline from 71% to 55% in 2015.  While the difference may be statistically insignificant, the most important consideration is the rapid change in slope for the two products, SIP Trunking upward and T1 lines downward. Moreover, it is clear that T1s will continue to be used by businesses for sometime to come with most enterprise networks using both T1s and SIP Trunks.

As I have pointed out when representing ANPI at various conferences, no single provider dominates the landscape today. Even amongst enterprise customers, 20 service providers were named as vendors of SIP Trunks. And, although this study reflected the opinions of enterprises and medium sized businesses, the information can also be applied to small business.

As small businesses continue to transition from TDM based facilities to IP communications, there are no service providers dominating the space or seen as the market leader. Therefore, it continues to be important to work with a service provider that understands the importance offering a customizable product, simple order process, fast provisioning and implementation, and excellent customer service. It is through this level of differentiation that a competitive advantage can be established leading to market leadership.

The barriers to entry remain the same for all. Most enterprise customers continue to be satisfied with the status quo even though SIP Trunking can represent a reduction in cost and expansion of services and features. Many small business owners either are unaware of less expensive telecommunications alternatives or do not have time to invest in understanding how to secure these new technologies. The second most identified reason for not switching is an existing contract. Many enterprises and SMBs become open to the transition only when they are no longer exposed to early termination fees or cancellation charges.

SIP Trunks and T1 lines will remain the mainstay for broadband for a long time. However, it is good to see SIP Trunking making such gains so quickly. As SIPConnect 1.1 is deployed and interoperability issues are reduced, the adoption of SIP trunks will only increase.