While companies are increasingly eyeing productivity gains and new service capabilities, cost is still an important element in the IPT equation. "Cost is still high on the enterprise customer's agenda, though they are now realizing the advantages of IPT beyond mere cost savings," said Li at IDC. "They are now demanding seamless convergence between multiple devices (desk phone, laptop, PDA, mobile phone) with easier operation and management."

Li emphasized that cost is declining in importance in 2006 as compared to previous years, as enterprise customers look at IPT beyond cost savings. "IPT deployment has also been driven by users' experience and business demands, rather than customers simply buying technology for technology's sake," she said.

Wong at PCCW also stressed the need for companies in Hong Kong to target IPT benefits based around productivity and new capabilities.

"The equipment is still fairly new and not necessarily cheap relative to traditional TDM systems," he said. "Therefore the upgrade costs are still high but the potential benefits are much greater-so purely from the cost perspective companies should not expect huge savings." He suggested companies should look at potentially better bandwidth, faster response times and new features for staff and customers-which all contribute to top line revenue growth.

Charleston Sin, general manager for Hong Kong and Macau, Cisco, said that customers are reaping gains by marrying IPT with business processes.