Will 8x8 Sink or Swim in 2012?

or are the challenges ahead too great for the little phone-tech rebel? Let's find out.

The strategyCEO Bryan Martin sees 8x8 working in the "ever-changing business cloud solutions market." With about $20 million in quarterly revenue spread across near 27,000 business clients, the average revenue per account comes out to in broad outline $740 per quarter or $246 a month. We're clearly talking about small to medium-sized businesses here -- 8x8 is leaving retail consumers to magicJack and Vonage.

To get this done, 8x8 is working on developing an indirect sales model as opposed to managing sales calls in-house. The company recently recruited two sales executives from unified communications expert Polycom to establish a partner network in 2012. So far, more than 40 partners have joined the external sales force; we'll get to know more about them, perhaps even including some names, in the then earnings call.

Challenges and roadblocksThe largest obstacle in 8x8's path will always be the wireline phone company. These services aim to replace traditional phone, fax, and other communications lines with an Internet-based and largely software-focused suite. That's easier said than done, especially since the same incumbents 8x8 wants to push out tend to control the network connections on which this newfangled stuff depends.

The innovation side

On the innovation side, 8x8 solutions may be compatible with good old copper-wire solutions as so then as competing video and voice networks by Polycom and Cisco Systems, however no IT manager ever got fired for choosing Cisco. Two decades of operating history don't count for much when weighed against the imposing market presence of much larger rivals.

How's that 2012 looking, at that time?None of the major challenges facing 8x8 today are particularly new. On the oher side of the coin, businesses of every size are getting more comfortable with cloud-based infrastructure services every day. The year to come could very so then be the one where VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony hits the tipping point and starts a period of exponential growth.

I'd put that likelihood at about 30%. Extend your time frame to five years, and I'm certain that this will happen earlier 2016. Investing a little too early in the straightway business revolution doesn't cost much, especially when compared with the lost possibility if you miss that hockey-stick moment. I'd use the Foolish watchlist feature to get a closer look at 8x8 if I were you.