By all accounts, my interviews with industry leaders at ITEXPO West in Los Angeles this week revealed that the IP communications space is thriving despite a weakened economy. As we embark on day three of ITEXPO (News - Alert) West, it’s time to review these emerging trends and tune into what lies ahead for the technology communications industry. 

 

Most vendors have reported that the current financial climate has been something of a blessing in disguise, with a pervasive number of SMBs seeking out the resources that will help them achieve greater productivity and cost-savings during a time of layoffs, budget cuts and uncertainty.

 

With more competition and more vendors in the space than ever before, industry players are staying ahead of the curve through innovation and products that helps both the SMB and enterprise segments improve their customer service, eliminate redundancies and achieve a greater return on investment, thought leaders reported during often informative and candid interviews at ITEXPO’s Editor’s Week.

 

In fact, the IT services market relating to the adoption, support and operation of Internet protocol communications will approach $13 billion in 2013, according to analysts at Gartner (News - Alert). The IT research firm projects a compound annual growth rate of nearly 17 percent for the period 2008 to 2013.

 

This prognosis was validated by industry leaders in Los Angeles, who gathered in droves for the 20^th ITEXPO at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where I sat down with leaders from Zultys, Ecessa, Ooma, Multi-Tech, Sagem Interstar, SIP Forum, snom, PortaOne (News - Alert), IntelePeer, Voxeo, SIP Print, Allworx and FaxBack, to name just a few. The commonality among these vendors and service providers is they are harnessing the challenges that have been born out of an economy that calls for buckling down and tightened budgets and the upshot is the number of resources available has grown in tandem with this trend.

 
In his keynote address on Wednesday, Terry Matthews (News - Alert) emphasized the importance of developing products quickly and going to market when the time is right. “I’m here (at ITEXPO) because I’m an enthusiast,” Matthews said. “I’ve never seen more opportunities. There are so many facets and changes. And whenever there is change, there are many opportunities. Some people will fail and some people will make it.”

Of those companies “making it,” they are paving the way for change as the IP communications space continues to evolve – even in a downturned economy. Last night we announced our “Best of Show” winners recognizing these innovative technologies and forward-looking feature sets. The TMC (News - Alert) editorial team gathered shortly after the exhibit hall opening on Wednesday evening to deliberate nearly 100 entries which were evaluated during the show. Exhibiting companies participated in the award program through pre-show nominations, and through presentations to TMC`s judges immediately before Wednesday`s opening of the exhibit hall. Our deliberation process went longer than usual based on the number of entries and the high quality of offerings that were presented. To see a list of the ITEXPO West Best of Show 2009 winners, click here.

TMC is already gearing up for ITEXPO East in Miami, which will be held Jan. 20 to 22, 2010 – don’t wait, register now.