According to a recently published report by Synergy Research Group, the worldwide Enterprise IP Telephony market continues to be one of the fastest growing Networking equipment markets eclipsing both the PBX & KTS markets in 2006. IP Telephony represented 58 percent of the total Enterprise Telephony dollars spent in 2006, up from 46 percent in 2005.

In 2006, IP telephony became the dominant technology choice in the Enterprise Voice market. The biggest benefactor of this technology trend has been Cisco, who now ranks in the top pack of Enterprise Voice vendors. Smaller vendors such as 3Com, AudioCodes, Mitel, ShoreTel, Sphere, Vertical, and Quintum have also seized on the IP opportunity for market entry.

The U.S. represents the biggest opportunity for the Enterprise IP Telephony market, followed closely by the EMEA region. In the US, the competition between Cisco, Avaya, and Nortel remains strong. In 2007, Synergy expects to see a developing battleground between the larger vendors fighting for the Small Business opportunity that has been traditionally served by the Key Telephone Systems (KTS) market.

In Q4 2006, the Telephony vendors who primarily serve the under 100-line market posted substantial IP Telephony growth across the U.S. as well as the EMEA region. The highlights included:

- 3Com increasing 50 percent sequentially in EMEA
-- Mitel increasing 40 percent sequentially in EMEA
- ShoreTel increasing 73 percent sequentially in the U.S.
- Vertical increasing 173 percent sequentially in the U.S.

Other notable highlights: Cisco shipped over 1-million IP Phones for the third consecutive quarter. Avaya shipped over 1-million Converged Lines for the third consecutive quarter.