Global Enterprise Media Gateway and Session

Border Controller Market Two Strong Segments Form an Intertwined Market Opportunity

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Executive Summary

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• The delineation between the enterprise media gateway and session border controller (SBC) market is

becoming increasingly blurred as multi-service devices offering both media conversion and SBC

functionality become a mainstay of competitors’ enterprise product lines.

• Enterprise media gateways will continue to exist as an essential component of enterprise unified

communications and collaboration (UC&C) deployments for the foreseeable future. Gateways help to

bridge disparate platforms and interfaces in order to overcome some of the interoperability challenges

in multi-vendor and multi-protocol UC&C environments.

• The enterprise session border controller (E-SBC) segment continues to make great strides, yet rapid

growth is stymied by a lack of mindshare among small and mid-sized customers.

• The continuing transition to voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) access and session initiation protocol

(SIP) trunking services is currently the single largest driving factor in both the media gateway and E-

SBC markets.

• These services can offer significant cost savings to enterprises with both time division multiplexing

(TDM) and IP telephony systems, with media gateways serving as the conduit between SIP and

legacy communications protocols and E-SBCs providing security and interoperability for native IP

platforms.

• While the popularity of mobile devices and the developing WebRTC standards are giving E-SBCs

new roles in enterprise UC infrastructure, vendors continue to struggle to make the importance of

protecting their infrastructure resonate with businesses.

Executive Summary—Key Findings

Source: Frost & Sullivan

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Executive Summary—CEO’s Perspective

2The traditional media gateway market is

facing commodity pricing and ultimate

obsolescence.

3The E-SBC market is finding additional roles

on the enterprise edge, including mobile

device and WebRTC support.

4Both segments of the market are heavily

driven by the adoption of VoIP access and

SIP trunking services.

5Customer awareness is an ongoing

challenge to long-term growth. Making the

case for MGs/SBCs will be crucial.

Source: Frost & Sullivan

1

The enterprise media gateway and E-SBC

markets are increasingly interlinked as multi-

service devices blur competitive and product

lines.

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Market Overview

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Enterprise Media Gateways

The enterprise media gateway market is an integral part of the overall enterprise communications

solutions industry. Media gateways typically reside on the enterprise premises, either at main offices or

branch locations, and allow organizations to effectively integrate IP and TDM voice platforms and

networks.

An enterprise media gateway functions as a ―signal translator‖ for voice calls originating and terminating

between traditional TDM-based private branch exchanges (PBXs) or key telephony systems (KTS) and

VoIP/SIP trunk access networks, as well as those originating and terminating between IP PBXs and the

public switched telephone network (PSTN) or SIP trunks.

Media gateways are used for ―toll bypass‖—transferring calls between two or more TDM PBXs within the

same enterprise over a company’s IP network.

Market Overview—Definitions

Source: Frost & Sullivan

Scope

Geographic coverage Global

Study period 2011–2019

Base year 2012

Forecast period 2013-2019

Monetary unit US Dollars

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Enterprise Media Gateways (continued)

Enterprise media gateways are also used for integrating branch offices with a centrally deployed IP

telephony platform and applications.

Finally, media gateways are deployed to connect an enterprise telephony solution, typically a TDM-

based one with various IP-based applications such as unified messaging (UM), unified communications

(UC) or conferencing; they also connect such applications with carrier TDM or VoIP networks.

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)

SIP is a media signaling protocol that facilitates set-up, control, and tear-down of IP-based voice, video,

and data communications sessions. SIP is designed as an application-layer protocol that is independent

of the transport layer, enabling it to operate in Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram

Protocol (UDP), or Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) environments. SIP is a distributed

peer-to-peer protocol, with which intelligence and features are embedded in endpoints (e.g., servers,

phones, gateways, and appliances) rather than at the network core.

Session

A session is the interaction between two endpoints (servers, appliances, or user devices) that occurs

during a single connection. A session occurs when two endpoints agree to connect in order to exchange

data (media signals), and ends when either endpoint terminates the connection. A session can include

any combination of voice, video, or data communications.

Market Overview—Definitions (continued)

Source: Frost & Sullivan

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Enterprise Session Border Controller (E-SBC)

SBCs are infrastructure devices that provide connectivity (NAT, SIP normalization, IPv4 to IPv6

networking, SIP-H.323 protocol translation), security, QoS, regulatory compliance (emergency call

prioritization), and media services (transcoding) for IP communications. Enterprise SBCs produced by

certain vendors additionally offer gateway, VoIP mediation, PSTN access, survivability, and other

features. In session management architectures, SBCs facilitate the integration and interoperability of

multi-vendor components (user devices, servers, appliances, and services). The SBC provides a secure

demarcation between enterprise and telecom carrier networks for access, hosted communications, and

other services.

SIP Trunking

SIP trunking services are a form of VoIP access services offered by telecom carriers that utilize

converged access lines to connect premises-based PBX equipment and UC&C platforms to the telecom

carrier network. VoIP access and SIP trunking services essentially direct enterprise customers toward a

path of gradual transition to fully converged, IP-based networks. SIP trunking services are typically

deployed with SIP-based or SIP-enabled enterprise IP telephony platforms for which protocol conversion

is not required. In support of SIP trunking services, session border controllers (SBCs) or other devices

are recommended for protocol normalization and security purposes.

Market Overview—Definitions (continued)

Source: Frost & Sullivan

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Unified Communications (UC)

A UC solution converges disparate communications systems and applications (voice, data, and video) to

improve enterprise-user productivity and enhance collaboration. UC solutions are meant to simplify

communications for end users by giving them access to a consistent set of integrated tools. These tools

enable end users to share information from any location, employing the most appropriate

communications modality and endpoint for their needs.

Applications and infrastructure convergence in the form of UC additionally aims to enable enterprise

administrators to more effectively manage a single network, both systems and end-user elements, using

a consolidated set of management tools.

Market Overview—Definitions (continued)

Source: Frost & Sullivan

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Drivers and Restraints—Total Enterprise Media

Gateway and Session Border Controller Market

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Drivers 1–2 Years 3–4 Years 5–7 Years

SIP trunking is advancing as a go-to choice for

VoIP delivery, driving media gateway and E-SBC

demand for customer premises equipment.

H H H

IP telephony and UC&C penetration drives

demand to integrate enterprise IP platforms with the

PSTN.

M M M

Interoperability between systems will remain a

challenge, requiring multi-function media gateways

or E-SBCs to fill the gap.

M M M

WebRTC and mobile device support are creating

new use cases and a larger role for E-SBC

deployments.

L M M

SBC functionality and additional features extend

the scope and applicability of media gateways.L L L

Impact ratings: H = High, M = Medium, L = LowSource: Frost & Sullivan

Total Enterprise Media Gateway and Session Border Controller Market: Key Market Drivers,

Global, 2013–2019

Market Drivers

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Restraints 1–2 Years 3–4 Years 5–7 Years

Lack of customer mindshare and product

knowledge stifle E-SBC adoption .H H M

An uncertain economy is likely to stall enterprise

UC projects and, in turn, slow growth for media

gateways and E-SBCs.

H M M

International adoption of SIP services is slower

than in North America, impacting market growth for

both media gateways and E-SBCs.

M M M

Native SIP trunking will overtake traditional PSTN

connectivity, marginalizing the need for enterprise

media gateway sales.

M L L

Impact ratings: H = High, M = Medium, L = LowSource: Frost & Sullivan

Total Enterprise Media Gateway and Session Border Controller Market: Key Market Restraints,

Global, 2013–2019

Market Restraints

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• ADTRAN

• Avaya

• Cisco

• Edgewater

• GenBand

• Ingate

• Mitel

• Siemens Enterprise Communications

• Sonus

• Sangoma

Partial List of Companies Interviewed

Source: Frost & Sullivan

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Market Overview—Key Questions This Study Will Answer

Why are the enterprise media gateway and enterprise SBC markets growing, how long will they

continue to grow and at what rate?

Are enterprise media gateways and session border controllers opposing or interlinked markets?

Will these companies/products/services continue to exist or will they get acquired by other

companies? Will the products/services become features in other markets?

How will the structure of the market change with time? Is it ripe for acquisitions?

Are the products/services offered today meeting customer needs or is there additional development

needed?

Are the vendors in the space ready to go it alone, or do they need partnerships to take their

business to the next level?

Source: Frost & Sullivan

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Contents of Full Analysis

Section Slide Number

Executive Summary 4

Market Overview 9

Total Enterprise Media Gateway and Session Border Controller Market

• Drivers and Restraints 15

• Forecasts and Trends 24

• Demand Analysis 28

Enterprise Media Gateway Segment Breakdown 34

Enterprise Session Border Controller Segment Breakdown 46

The Last Word 57

Appendix 61

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Research Team

Michael Brandenburg Industry Analyst

Information & Communications Technology

Lead Analyst

Research Director

Elka Popova Research Director

Information & Communications Technology

Strategic Review Committee Leader

Robert Arnold Principal Analyst

Information & Communications Technologies