SIP has skyrocketed in growth alongside the need for dependable and scalable telecommunications. As a result, enterprises and individuals alike are using VoIP and SIP services daily, allowing for higher-quality voice calls and robust capabilities to meet the needs of the modern world.
Over the past decade, we’ve seen Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) clients go from a small corner of the market to a dominant force shaping the future of telecom services.
And yet, technology never sits still, so what will the future of SIP look like? Keep reading to learn key trends and projections about where SIP-based communications are heading.
The telecommunications industry has evolved for over a century, taking us from the telegraph to the landlines that were essential for decades.
Yet, as the Internet became widely adopted, telephony began to change. Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) was created in 2003, before many households even had broadband access, and began reshaping how we imagine telecom.
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) was created even earlier to address the needs of real-time IP-based communications. The Internet Engineering Task Force created SIP in 1996, which was standardized by 1999, establishing the baseline for VoIP and the field of Unified Communications.
Both protocols have undergone continuous improvement, taking them from a niche user base to the dominant method of communication for individuals and enterprises.
SIP gained popularity and rose to prominence because of its ability to adapt as new technologies and use cases emerged. Now, SIP clients and services continue to pick up new users as they’re more capable of matching the growing need for mobile and remote users.
So what trends are currently driving SIP, and what does the future hold? Let’s discuss some key trends defining the present state of SIP and shaping its next phase of evolution.
The global SIP trunking market is projected to reach US$30.22 billion by 2027, a substantial increase from $13.44 billion in 2019. These projections are based on the growing demand for SIP clients for organizations of all sizes and the increased prevalence of remote users.
SIP allows organizations to have less expensive, dependable, and scalable telecommunications when compared to traditional landlines. Additionally, SIP can adapt to remote or mobile users to meet the shifting needs of enterprise and small business workforces.
What’s after 2027? We expect adoption to continue as SIP-based services become the new normal due to the protocol’s ability to evolve alongside other technologies. Undoubtedly, the tech ecosystem in 2027 will look different from today, but we’re confident it will still include SIP.
It’s no secret that the hybrid workforce is here to stay. Some employees may even work 100% remotely, so companies need to adapt to the new workplace.
SIP clients allow anyone working away from the office to have the same telecommunications as everyone else. Remote workers can use a desktop or mobile app from wherever they are to take client calls, join a conference call, or transfer calls to their coworkers.
Additionally, SIP trunking excels at accommodating employees that are traveling. It doesn’t matter where they are; they can communicate with the rest of the team and outside parties without issue.
A hybrid workforce typically means workers will be using a wider variety of devices. As a result, using a cross-platform communication platform is a growing necessity for the new workforce.
We expect this trend to continue increasing, even though some companies are trying to bring everyone back into the office. Accommodating hybrid workers is necessary for many industries and SIP services to ensure consistent communications regardless of location.
Mobile communications aren’t new, but it’s changed dramatically in recent years, especially when considering business usage.
The deployment of 5G has allowed mobile users to take part in data-heavy forms of communication, such as video calls, and mobile apps need to adapt. For example, while SIP has focused on voice calls, it’s also a valuable component for video calls to minimize dropped packets and create a consistent experience.
Additionally, the current and future workforce will likely be increasingly mobile as employees take calls while traveling to their hotel, commuting home, or otherwise moving between cell towers. Other options, like WebRTC, struggle to connect to new towers as the caller travels. This creates delays or dropped calls even when driving a few blocks while on a call.
Fortunately, SIP services are well-equipped to switch between towers without affecting the user experience. As more and more business users need to take calls while on the go, SIP clients will continue showing their value compared to other options.
Looking more broadly at the tech landscape, it’s clear that edge computing and zero-trust architecture are significant trends informing the future of networks.
Both of these trends result from the rapid increase in cyber crimes resulting in costly data breaches, ransomware, or abuse of IT resources.
Edge computing calls for re-imagining networks by evaluating devices in relation to their proximity to the end user. The general idea is that the closer an IT asset is to an end user, the more vulnerable it is to exploitation, necessitating better monitoring and security.
Zero-trust architecture also focuses on user accounts but instead revolves around providing the least amount of access to IT resources while requiring continuous authentication as a user moves through the network. Ideally, this architecture will minimize and contain the impact of compromised user credentials.
How do these apply to SIP clients? It’s going to become increasingly vital for telecommunications to be able to accommodate these new network architectures. For example, previous perimeter-based security made authentication between internal users unnecessary.
But SIP clients need to adapt as these security-focused frameworks gain momentum. Fortunately, the protocol itself is flexible and can technically adapt. As a result, SIP client engineers are responsible for developing platforms with a security-first approach.
Cyber attacks aren’t slowing down on their own, so companies will undoubtedly continue exploring ways to bolster security. In addition, new security initiatives will shape future SIP solutions.
Choosing the right SIP softphone is vital to your organization’s future growth. The right softphone will already have the features you need and be ready to evolve as the technology landscape evolves.
Acrobits is an industry leader in providing innovative telecom solutions that have all the capabilities you need. Our team of developers and engineers stays on top of the latest trends facing SIP, so your software is always reading for the future.
Our Groundwire and Acrobits Softphone apps allow businesses to replace desk phones and future-proof their communications. Ready to get started? Sign up today or reach out to us for a demo to learn more.
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