"But now customers are looking deeper into IPT and finding significant productivity gains as well as cost savings when they consolidate networks," said Mak from Avaya. "Emerging new applications on the desktop and in customer service centers are creating new capabilities and opportunities."

Larry Wong, director of marketing and products, Commercial Group at PCCW agreed that this year's growth in IPT has been driven by new applications and functions. "Many early adopters of IPT didn't really make use of the functions of the handsets or systems," said Wong, "but emerging applications have created new services."

He noted that some firms are embedding IPT into other tools like salesforce automation and CRM. Some firms even use IP phones as a hotdesk login mechanism where salesmen who don't require a permanent desk come into the office, login via the phone, and have immediate access to their data and services.

Wong added that while IPT has definitely climbed in demand, this has not been reflected in overall revenues from voice systems. "Hong Kong is a mature market which means it's a replacement market," he said. "We see a lot of gradual replacement of old voice systems with new IP equipment."

Mak agreed that Hong Kong's mature market means overall voice revenues have not grown much. "But the revenue mix has shifted significantly," he said. "It's much more IP-based now and TDM revenues are falling."