The Future of IP-Based Services: Key opportunities, challenges and vendors in the consumer and enterprise space

The Future of IP-Based Services: Key opportunities, challenges and vendors in the consumer and enterprise space

IP-based services are a new phenomenon, driven by widespread take-up in broadband, faster Internet connections and the emergence of new technologies. The buoyant IT budgets of the broadcast sector represent an attractive target for technology vendors, with increasing networking and storage demands acting to boost demand for equipment and related services. The Future of IP-based Services is a new report published by Business Insights examining the market opportunities and challenges for services delivered over an Internet Protocol (IP) network. This report analyzes the market conditions that enabled the creation of IP-based services and the factors driving demand. It examines the form new IP-based services have taken, whether consumer-led (video, music, television and games) or targeted at enterprises (voice, video conferencing and messaging) and provides insight into the leading vendors of IPTV services, the technology that underpins it and voice/data convergence solutions.

Table of Contents
The Future of IP-based Services
Executive summary 12
Market context 12
Targeting the broadcast sector 13
IP-based services for consumers 13
IP-based services for the enterprise 14
The vendor ecosystem 15
Chapter 1 Introduction 18
What is this report about? 18
Who is this report for? 18
Definitions 19
Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) 19
IP-PBX 19
IP telephone 19
Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) 19
Long tail 19
Massively Multi-player Online game (MMO) 20
Mobility 20
nVOD 20
Push email 20
Unified communications 20
Video on Demand (VOD) 20
Voice/data convergence 21
WiFi 21
Chapter 2 Market context 24
Summary 24
Introduction 25
Market drivers behind IP-based services 25
For consumers 25
Broadband adoption 25
Consumers are increasingly attracted to alternative online entertainment channels 26
New consumption habits 27
Content producers exploit new channels for distribution to expand audience reach 28
Move from analog to digital services 28
Platform-agnostic multi-play services on the horizon 28
Broadcasters and content producers give strong investment to new channels 29
Non-traditional competitors enter into the sector through white label services 30
In the enterprise 31
End users and the customer experience are driving investments in convergence solutions 31
Standardizing systems and infrastructure is also a consideration 32
The increase in flexible working drives demand for voice/data convergence 32
The IP delivery model 33
Take-up of IP-based services 34
IPTV 34
Video on Demand 34
US cable operators forge ahead with VOD deployment 34
UK: on-demand market becoming increasingly competitive 36
Other markets 38
Online gaming 39
Voice/data convergence 40
IP-PBX solutions will grow in popularity 42
Implications of the evolving IP-based services market 43
For the broadcast market 43
Broadband penetration creates opportunities and challenges for traditional video aggregators 43
New advertising models 43
Service bundling is essential for survival in an competitive market 44
Consumer intelligence across the entire product portfolio as a key differentiator 45
Broadcasters boost operational efficiencies through infrastructure rationalization 45
Implications of IP-based services for the enterprise 46
The cost of implementation is the biggest inhibitor of investment 46
Confusion by terminology and vendor messages could prevent growth 46
Legacy hardware is both a driver and an inhibitor for growth 47
Chapter 3 Targeting the broadcast sector 50
Summary 50
The evolving broadcast landscape 51
Vendor opportunities 51
IT investment in Europe 51
IT drivers 52
Gaming providers 54
Selecting a vendor 55
Telecoms require IT solutions for IPTV 56
Chapter 4 IP-based services for consumers 60
Summary 60
Introduction 61
IPTV 61
Take-up of IPTV 62
Implications of IPTV 64
Heightened security concerns 64
Growth in digital rights management (DRM) 64
Video on demand 64
Global take-up of VOD 65
Different forms of VOD 66
VOD providers 67
Cable holds the VOD advantage 68
Satellite operators’ plans are PVR-centric 69
Telcos benefit from technological improvements 69
Standalone operators may cater for niche audience 69
DTT operators unlikely to challenge in the short term 70
IT demands of VOD providers 70
100 per cent availability crucial 70
A complete end-to-end solution is needed 71
Systems must be scaleable to meet future demand 71
Challenges posed by VOD 72
Addressing the free VOD gap: making money from free content 72
Advertising 72
Consumer education needed to boost usage 73
More content = more usage 74
VOD still faces stiff competition 74
P2P threatens content security 74
The role of high definition content 75
A differentiator in a competitive market 75
Take-up in the US and Europe 75
MPEG-4 advanced video compression boosts efficiency 77
MPEG-4 to reduce barriers to entry into the IPTV and HD markets 77
Online gaming 78
Drivers behind online gaming 78
Defining the video games industry 80
Consumers face a growing number of games platforms 81
Online gaming strategies 82
Nintendo retains a price advantage 82
Sony and Microsoft battle for the living room 83
Sony and Nintendo look to tackle Microsoft’s online dominance 84
PlayStation Network offers ‘core’ services for free 84
Wii Channels and Wii Connect24 create an ‘open’ online system 85
Nintendo’s WiFi Connection offers free roaming gaming 85
Xbox Live continues to hold a strong position through its two-tired system 86
Publishers aim to exploit the ‘long tail’ through digital distribution 86
Games companies explore alternative revenue generation strategies 88
Chapter 5 IP-based services for the enterprise 92
Summary 92
Introduction 93
Drivers of convergence solutions 93
Adoption of voice/data convergence solutions is steadily increasing 94
Adoption by sizeband 94
Adoption by geographic location 95
Adoption by vertical sector 95
IP telephony 96
Take-up of IP telephony 97
Trends in IP telephony 98
Microsoft OCS highlights a new trend for applications in the communications industry 98
IP-PBXs will eventually replace traditional TDM systems 98
Price pressure will increase as solutions mature and the market slows 99
IP contact centers 100
Growing adoption of IP in the enterprise and service provider markets 100
Take-up of IP contact centers 101
Mobility 102
Take-up of enterprise mobility solutions 102
Drivers of enterprise mobility 103
The uptake of 3G is increasing 103
Fixed mobile convergence (FMC) shows clear business benefits 104
Dual-mode devices will make the desk phone less significant 104
Mobilization of business applications is now taking off 104
Enterprise mobility is on the IT department agenda 105
Benefits of enterprise mobility 105
Business process improvements 106
Mobility can help reduce enterprises’ carbon footprint 106
Barriers to the wider deployment of enterprise mobility 106
Security is still perceived to be an issue 106
Cost and device lifetime are also inhibiting enterprises 106
There is not always a business case for mobility solutions 107
Trends in mobility 107
As the market matures, enterprise mobility budgets will change 107
Improvements in mobility technologies will drive use of mobile applications 108
Cost of mobility will become more competitive 108
Unified communications 108
Take-up of unified communications 110
Trends in unified communications 111
Contact centers are using unified communications to integrate with the enterprise 111
Mobility will play a greater role in the unified communications market 112
Greater security implications and a higher demand for mobile management 112
Environmental concerns are driving investments in UC 112
Consumer IT activity will further influence enterprise deployments 113
The economic slowdown will lead to increased interest in software as a service 113
Vendors have to prove return on investment 114
Enterprise buying strategies 114
Enterprises prefer to deploy voice/data convergence solutions on-site 114
Smaller enterprises prefer hosting of convergence technologies 114
Geographical differences in how enterprises’ buy solutions 115
Outsourcing of voice/data convergence solutions is low 115
Chapter 6 IPTV vendors 118
Summary 118
Introduction 118
Vendor dynamics 120
Portfolio scalability 120
Industry consolidation 120
SeaChange, Motorola and Cisco (Arroyo) 121
Microsoft and Tandberg TV 122
Vendor summary 123
Alcatel-Lucent 123
Cisco 124
Harmonic 125
Microsoft 126
Motorola 127
SeaChange 128
Tandberg TV 129
Chapter 7 Voice/data convergence technology vendors 132
Vendor dynamics 132
Strengthening partnerships as unified communications solutions develop 133
Cisco has the highest degree of share of mind 134
Regional variations 134
Vendor summary 135
Alcatel-Lucent 135
Avaya 136
Cisco 138
BT Launches Communications Complete with Cisco 139
Nortel 140
Siemens Enterprise Communications 142
Teleware 143
NEC 145
Interactive Intelligence 146
Ericsson 148
ShoreTel 150
Microsoft and IBM burst into the unified communications market 151
IBM 151
Microsoft 152
Index 154
List of Figures
Figure 2.1: Delivering IP-based services to consumers 33
Figure 2.2: Each of the leading console manufacturers will see growth in their online user base 39
Figure 2.3: Optimistic future for the voice/data convergence market 40
Figure 2.4: 59% of organizations have already deployed voice/data convergence solutions 41
Figure 3.5: Broadcaster plans to digitize back catalogue video assets in 2007 54
Figure 4.6: Europe sees a higher take-up of IPTV than the US 62
Figure 4.7: Digital TV market comparison. 2005-2010 63
Figure 4.8: The US leads Europe in producing content in HD in 2007 76
Figure 4.9: Comparison of online services for next-generation consoles 82
Figure 4.10: Exploiting the long tail 87
Figure 5.11: Revenues will increase rapidly in the unified communications market 94
Figure 5.12: TDM vs IP shipments for IVR, 2006-2012 99
Figure 5.13: The enterprise mobility market is set for significant growth 103
Figure 5.14: Convergence of voice and data systems provides the opportunity for unified communications 110
List of Tables
Table 2.1: Which of the following do you currently have or use, and which would you prioritize for investment in the next six months or two years? 42
Table 5.2: What are the key benefits you expect from mobility? 105
Table 5.3: Reasons for deploying unified communications 111