London, 23rd November 2009 - The 2009 Frost & Sullivan Growth Leadership Award in the World Audioconferencing Tabletop Market is presented to Sweden-based Konftel. In a global market long dominated by two major incumbent manufacturers, Konftel has been able to buck the trend of an increasingly competitive and price-sensitive market.

In a tough recessionary market, Konftel outperformed its competitors with an annual average revenue growth rate between 2005 and 2008 of 29.7 per cent, nearly double the overall market growth rate of 15.8 per cent. Additionally, Konftel demonstrated the strongest average growth of market share of 12.6 per cent during this period, while its nearest rival achieved 5.7 per cent.

"A major contributing factor to Konftel's growth has been an unrelenting focus on building strong, productive and long-term relationships with strategic distribution channels in both Europe and North America," notes Paul Waadevig, Global Programme Director of Frost & Sullivan's Conferencing & Collaboration Practice. "The local sales support has helped grow sales volumes in news and existing channels. Additionally, the partnerships with Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Siemens and Snom have allowed Konftel to develop brand awareness and penetrate new geographic and vertical markets."

In addition to extending the scope of international sales distribution, Konftel has also invested significantly in sales and marketing efforts. In 2008, moving into 2009, the company opened new or additional local sales offices in a number of key territories, including the USA, Germany, UK and France, as well as reinforcing its sales presence in Sweden.

Over this period, Konftel has also continued to invest heavily in the vital research, development and design which underpin its portfolio of innovative audioconferencing products.

"Core elements in its product strategy include the use of the patented OmniSound audio technology, which is at the heart of all the tabletop products, and innovative Scandinavian styling," remarks Waadevig. "Konftel also prides itself on product reliability, resulting in a low returns rate, despite its standard offer of a 2-year swap-out warranty."

Konftel has also chosen not to implement a standard PSTN interface, opting instead for a multipurpose analogue and digital interface that supports connection to a wide range of devices.

"This broad, flexible portfolio - from the entry-level Konftel 50 to top-of-the-line Konftel 300 series models - is designed to meet the widest range of customer needs," concludes VP of Sales and Business Development Clarence Jacobson at Konftel. "For instance, its latest product, the Konftel 300IP, is the company's first SIP-based audioconferencing tabletop phone and is compatible with the Avaya Communication Manager system. It also features wide-band audio quality and the capability to record a telephone call on its internal SD memory."

The Frost & Sullivan Award for Growth Leadership is presented to the company that has demonstrated excellence in capturing the highest annual compound growth rate for the last 3 years.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

Konftel AB is Europe's leading manufacturer of conference phones. Since 1988, we have been developing conference phones with the patented audio technology, OmniSound®, that provides crystal-clear sound. Our products are marketed worldwide under the Konftel name. Our head office is in Umeå, Sweden, with subsidiaries in the USA, the UK, France and Germany. Find out more about the company and our products at www.konftel.com.

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 35 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

Kristina Menzefricke
Promotions Manager - Europe
Best Practices, Frost & Sullivan
P: +44 (0)1353 659130
kristina.menzefricke@frost.com