During 2006, sales of Pure IP systems -- those that are primarily equipped with IP endpoints -- surged 54% year over year, while corresponding TDM system sales declined 30% over the same period.

IntelliCom measures activity in the Enterprise Communication market based on software license seats rather than traditional hardware ports. This shift in measurement metrics follows the previously announced findings from IntelliCom's Market Dashboard research program that documented the rapid evolution of the Enterprise IP Telephony market to a software-centric delivery model.

"Our research has demonstrated that Enterprise Communications is clearly undergoing a broad software transformation from both an architectural and business model perspective," explains Frank Stinson, director of IntelliCom's Market Dashboard and Market Performance Dashboard research programs.

IntelliCom also found that three vendors, Nortel, Avaya, and Cisco, accounted for more than half of total 2006 IPT and TDM shipments in North America. "Nortel and Avaya's long-standing battle for North American market leadership raged throughout 2006," adds Stinson. "Whether this continues as a two-way contest in 2007 remains to be seen, given that Cisco has now broken through into the top tier of providers and is moving forward with a very strong growth trajectory."

Source: IntelliCom