North American Healthcare Sector Promises a Range of New Growth Opportunities for Telecom and IT Vendors

Although the healthcare sector has historically lagged behind others in terms of aggressive deployment of next-generation IT and telecom solutions, new investments are increasingly being made to enhance operational efficiency and comply with various regulatory requirements. Going forward, healthcare firms will continue to invest in IT/telecom solutions that address productivity, regulatory compliance, and customer contact/relationship issues faced by the sector.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.enterprisecommunications.frost.com), Overview of the North American Healthcare Communication Service and Solution Markets, finds that the healthcare services firms generated revenues of $1.9 trillion in 2007 and estimates this to reach $2.6 trillion in 2012.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an outline of the overview of the North American healthcare communication service and solution markets, then send an e-mail to Mireya Castilla, Corporate Communications, at mireya.castilla@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.

“The healthcare vertical is witnessing a tremendous amount of technological evolution, necessitated by the changing market environment,” notes Frost & Sullivan Program Manager Imran Khan. “Regulatory compliance requirements are driving significant business process changes, thereby requiring investment in new IT/telecom systems.”

Furthermore, rising operating costs and profitability issues cause healthcare service providers to turn toward technology to boost operational efficiency. The continuing increase in hospital expenses over the past several years is indicative of some of the operating and financial challenges faced by various healthcare organizations.

From an IT/telecom solution provider's perspective, the healthcare sector presents significant revenue growth opportunities and several vendors and service providers are targeting this vertical with specific product and sales strategies. New revenue growth opportunities exist in both traditional and next-generation solutions including IP telephony, data transport, business process applications, hardware, and network security. Moreover, the relative lack of in-house IT resources across several healthcare organizations presents IT/telecom vendors with opportunities to provide network consulting, integration, and management services.

“Overall, while a majority of the healthcare firms surveyed by Frost & Sullivan spend a higher percent of total revenues on IT/telecom, vendors must understand whether these figures reflect sustained long-term spending or spending that is driven by short-term objectives such as regulatory compliance, when determining the true potential of the sector,” says Khan. “Success within the healthcare vertical is dependent upon a number of factors including product/service quality, reliability, brand awareness/recognition, and channel strength,” notes Khan.

Overview of the North American Healthcare Communication Service and Solution Markets is part of the Enterprise Communications Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in the following markets: enterprise vertical markets, enterprise product penetration and spending trends, and enterprise telephony solutions. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's TEAM Research, Growth Consulting and Growth Team Membership empower clients to create a growth-focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan’s Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com.

Overview of the North American Healthcare Communication Service and Solution Markets

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