Market research firm Infonetics Research released excerpts from its latest VoIP and UC Services and Subscribers market share and forecast report, which tracks service providers and their voice over IP (VoIP) and unified communications (UC) services revenue and subscribers.

“The market for VoIP services has moved well beyond the early adopter stage to mainstream status in many developed countries. New geographic regions are opening up, and SIP trunking and hosted UC continue to heat things up, fueling growth,” reports Diane Myers, principal analyst for VoIP, UC, and IMS at Infonetics Research. “Vendors are increasingly pitching cloud telephony and unified communications services alongside SIP trunking as more multisite businesses seek out hybrid solutions.”

The global VoIP services market totaled $63 billion in 2012, up 9 percent from 2011. Due to continued demand for enterprise cloud-based services, revenue from hosted VoIP and UC services grew 17 percent in 2012 from 2011, the most of any segment.

SIP trunks jumped 83 percent in 2012 from the previous year, as multisite businesses adopt SIP trunking for cost savings and flexibility. Managed IP-PBX services, which focus on dedicated enterprise systems, remain the largest business VoIP services segment, and sales grew 9 percent in 2012.