VoIP increasingly popular with SMEs
VoIP increasingly popular with SMEs
Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, services appear to be increasingly popular among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
According to recent research conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC), SMEs are starting to take up a range of new technologies, including VoIP, and others which support audio, video and unified messaging.
However, relatively few companies were found to have implemented a “comprehensive, end-to-end unified communications system” to facilitate superior connectivity and collaboration.
Justin Jaffe, research manager at IDC, observed, “Many SMB business and IT priorities relate to communication and collaboration.
“SMEs are interested in both underlying capabilities and specific UC technologies.”
One of the main contributing factors pushing SMEs into unified communications was the impact of the economic downturn which underscored the necessity of expense management for smaller firms in particular.
The survey found that approximately 45 per cent of companies questioned were shown to be using some type of conferencing technology after taking into account restrictions on business travel as budgets have tightened.
Of these, VoIP was found to have established one of the strongest footholds within the medium-sized business segment. In fact, more than 30 per cent of firms with between 100 and 999 employees make use of it.
Smaller companies, however, were shown to be less involved at the moment. According to IDC, the relative reluctance of small companies to deploy the technology could be largely due to a lack of awareness about the possible benefits. But it also surmised that unwillingness to invest in new telecommunications structure and a perception that VoIP is less secure and poorer quality than standard technology were also blamed.
In terms of communications structure, it could be worth smaller companies considering leased lines as one way of negotiating the need for new infrastructure.
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