Hosted IVR

July 23, 2012

Hosted IVR Solutions: Part of a Service-Rich Market Environment

By Susan J. Campbell
TMCnet Contributing Editor

There is a growing demand for more hosted IVR solutions including both unified communications and other cloud and VoIP technology. According to yet another market report, both UC services and hosted IP telephony are driving the growth that is expected to seek a huge jump in the next four years. 

The report, summarized in this Telecom Reseller (News - Alert) piece, suggests that customers are taking notice of the multiple benefits that cloud and hosted solutions are offering. Between 2011 and 2018, research group Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) estimates that the number of UC services and hosted IP telephone users will increase not only in actual lines and end users but revenue, too. 

This will make the biggest impact on large companies as technology matures and even more cloud platforms and other hosted IVR solutions become prevalent. This renovated business model is expected to penetrate at a higher service rate for each user.Providers are adding more and more services with the capabilities and applications to match any need. 

Some of these offerings include contact center, live chat, conferencing and collaboration as well as increased mobility and instant messaging. Many over-the-top and bandwidth management services are picking up speed, too.When companies are looking for more availability, quality of service and reliability they are often turning to hosted serviced being delivered across the managed bandwidth. 

This will continue to be a more preferred option for many business models. Broadband goes a step further, however, as Internet capabilities improve. These groups get increasingly comfortable with how real-time applications like video and voice are delivered.The challenge within the market of hosted IVR solutions, UC services and broad spectrum remain just that, a challenge. 

The market is still slowly moving along and pressure to stay competitive is forcing many providers to look at other options. Some of those options consist of acquisitions and mergers, and for many of these companies it's survival mode.Yet other providers like system integrators and value-added resellers are entering the market by launching a highly competitive multi-instance communication platform. 

This PBX (News - Alert) and UC option is strictly marketing themselves as UC-as-a-service (UCaaS). This is an attractive option for those larger enterprises demanding feature-rich solutions on a more secure network.As the market grows and strengthens with more options and availability, the UC services, hosted IVR and telephony services will be able to meet everyone's needs, from small to large businesses. 

Basic voice services will be able to reach the cost-conscious users or give application bundles for communications and collaborations geared toward needy organizations.

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 (News - Alert) 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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