LONDON, February 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Small enterprises form one of the largest segments in Europe. However, they have been left out of the march towards next generation communication technologies. Peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies hold the promise of bridging this gap by providing large system capabilities at much lower costs.

Frost & Sullivan (http://www.enterprisecommunications.frost.com) finds that the European Peer-to-Peer Telephony Markets enjoyed a 0.3% penetration in 2006 and estimates this to reach 3.6% in 2012.

"The availability of large system capabilities at the price of small systems is incentive enough to gain interest from small enterprise stakeholders," says Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Shomik Banerjee. "What remain to be demonstrated are the fundamentals pertaining to ease-of-use and maintenance."

The sub-20 segment of the enterprise communication market is by far the largest in terms of number of businesses. Moreover, this is one segment that has fallen far behind in the race to use the latest technologies. A significant opportunity exists in this segment, untapped by larger participants until recently.

Although the market size and scope is huge, it is highly dispersed. This, in addition to the lack of a common buying behaviour, is emphasising the importance of channel effectiveness in order to generate business.

"Far from large and small cities, a huge chunk of businesses are set up in areas that may not necessarily have electronics accessories stores," adds Mr. Banerjee. "Supporting such businesses is bound to lead to high costs."

Ultimately, the most pervasive telecom entity is the service provider whose network is the food pipe for communication. Partnering with them can help address a set of challenges that will otherwise restrain growth in the P2P telephony markets.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the latest analysis of the European Peer-to-Peer Telephony Markets, send an e-mail to Srividhya Parthasarathy - Corporate Communications at sparthasarathy@frost.com with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, city, state and country. We will send you an overview through e-mail upon receipt of the above information.

European Peer-to-Peer Telephony Markets is part of the Enterprise Communications Subscription, which analyses the FMC environment and the key drivers and restraints. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com

Media Contacts: Europe: Srividhya Parthasarathy Corporate Communications P: +91-044-42044668 E: sparthasarathy@frost.com Americas: Mireya Castilla Corporate Communications P: +1-210-247-3830 F: +1-210-348-1003 E: mireya.castilla@frost.com India: Ravinder Kaur Corporate Communications P: +91-44-42044515 F: +91-44-24314264 E: ravinder.kaur@frost.com Asia Pacific: Sarah Lourdes Corporate Communications P: +603-6204-5878 E: sarah.lourdes@frost.com Australia: Sharmin Jassal Corporate Communications P: +61-2-8247-8900 F: +61-2-9252-8066 E: sharmin.jassal@frost.com

List of key words in this press release: European peer-to-peer telephony markets, Europe, peer-to peer technologies, P2P, telephony, markets, small enterprises, next generation communication technologies, enterprise communication market , electronics accessories stores, telecom, service provider

List of key industry participants: 3Com, Agilent, Alcatel, Artisoft, Avaya, BroadSoft, BT, cBeyond, Centile, Cisco, Citel, Comunitel, Contel, Convedia, Ericsson, FastWeb, France Telecom,, Fujitsu, GoBeam Comunications, Inclarity, Ingate Systems, Innovaphone, Intelis, Interactive Intelligence, Inter-Tel, Kagoor, Lucent, Marconi, Masergy, Mera Networks, Mitel, Natural Covergence, NEC, Net Tone, NetCentrex, NexTone, Nortel, PingTone, Polycom, Siemens, Snom, Sonus Networks, Swyx, Sylantro, TDC, TDC Norway, TDC Sweden, Telchemy, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telefonica Deutschland, TeliaSonera, T-Systems, Ubiquity, Unient, Utstar, Vcon, VocalData, Zultys

Media Contacts: Europe: Srividhya Parthasarathy, Corporate Communications, P: +91-044-42044668, E: sparthasarathy@frost.com; Americas: Mireya Castilla, Corporate Communications, P: +1-210-247-3830, F: +1-210-348-1003, E: mireya.castilla@frost.com; India: Ravinder Kaur, Corporate Communications, P: +91-44-42044515, F: +91-44-24314264, E: ravinder.kaur@frost.com; Asia Pacific: Sarah Lourdes, Corporate Communications, P: +603-6204-5878, E: sarah.lourdes@frost.com; Australia: Sharmin Jassal, Corporate Communications, P: +61-2-8247-8900, F: +61-2-9252-8066, E: sharmin.jassal@frost.com