The Decline of EPABX Industry in India

Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange or more commonly called an EPABX has been a Communication lifeline for Companies for the last 40 Years. They have been existing since an era where Email’s, Internet & Cell phones were not available for Communications. In Offices, one had to send memos & documents through Postal Service/courier or make Phone Calls using the phone on your Desk. It was a flourishing Business for EPABX Vendors. There were no discussions on TCO or ROI. It was an Extremely Essential Service in all Enterprises allowing hundreds of employees to not only communicate internally but use a handful of Central Office trunks to make & receive external Calls. Over time these EPABX Vendors added many value added features to enhance the voice communications. These include Call coverage, Call Pickup, Boss Secretary, Conferencing, Name Display, lock & unlock your phones, paging & many more. While Analog Handsets were always available, the Feature phones transitioned from ISDN Phones to Digital Phones & now IP phones.

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Over time the EPABX Vendors added many more features like Computer Telephony Interface (CTI) that allowed telephony controls with Business Applications. Specific Verticals like Hotels had their Hotel Systems integrated with EPABX to keep the Guest information updated whenever new Guest Checks-In. With the increasing use of Unified Communication (UC) Applications like Mobility, Multiple Party Conference & Video these same EPABX Vendors started building more Value Added Applications on the EPABX Platform itself. Cost of Cell Phones were still high & the Office Desk Phone was still used as a principal communication device for voice.

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Today in 2024 we are in the period where UC Applications are the primary tools for Employee productivity. Employees spend hours each day on Collaboration on Conference Calls & Messaging. Vendors such as MS Teams, Zoom & Google Meet are extremely popular. These Vendors are continuously adding new enhancements & AI capabilities. Very few people are actually using the traditional EPABX UC features. The role of the EPABX has been pushed to a basic commodity. Most large IT Companies have discarded their EPABX Platforms & adopted the Cloud Collaboration Solutions.

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My view is that the traditional EPABX business will continue but with less frills. In India, Cloud EPABX is still far away. There are regulatory issues & cost. Cloud PBX is always going to be more expensive than the traditional On Premise EPABX. There are Industries & Verticals where EPABX are still getting adopted & the need exists.

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• Government: - All Government Departments & Offices will always go for a traditional EPABX. Not seeing this going away in the near future. Vendors will have to work with Government Departments to spec their Platforms to make it favorable. Each State & Central Government are revamping their old EPABX’s & buying new Solutions for their new Offices. There are special requirements for Smart City’s, Metros, Defense Plants
• Hospitals: - Each Hospital will always require an EPABX. There is a lot of Patient & Internal Communication within a Hospital which cannot be replaced by Mobile Phones & Collaboration Platforms.
• Manufacturing Plants: - Each new Manufacturing Plant will always require an EPABX. Plants are spread across a large area. There are many Blue & White-Collar Employees. It is not economical to provide a UC License to each. Phones can be dedicated or shared amongst many individuals.
• Hospitality: - Hotels will always require a Phone in each room & hence an EPABX. FHRAI regulations has made it mandatory for each Hotel to have an Intercom in a room. 5 Star Hotels need to mandatorily have 1 phone in the room & one in the Rest Room.
• Education: - Large Universities, Education Campuses, Schools will always require an EPABX. This is also not going anywhere

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There can be more niche Verticals like Banks which can be big, but not all Banks seem to be keen to strategize on EPABX Platforms for all their Regional Offices & Branches. EPABX Vendors should focus on lesser frills to keep the Cost low & focus on these Verticals. A Strategic tie Up with Government Departments & large Hospital & Hotel Chains will help sustain a profitable EPABX Business