The number of companies making use of IP telephony solutions is rising steadily, one leading VoIP Quality of Service (QoS) tool provider has reported.

Psytechnics Ltd, which provides voice, video and multimedia quality testing tools for VoIP providers, asked companies about their current and planned uptake of the technology.

A clear majority of 64 per cent said they were already taking advantage of VoIP solutions to cut costs and increase efficiency, while 57 per cent indicated that IP telephony is their number one communications investment priority for 2008.

Among those who have yet to give their employees access to VoIP hardware, 68 per cent said they plan to start installing it in their offices within the next year.

A third of all respondents were even looking into Unified Communications solutions, which streamline VoIP, instant messaging, email and other communication modes into one simple, remote access point.

The survey cautioned, however, that six in ten respondents still had QoS issues about IP telephony solutions, ranging from speech distortion to hissing and echoes.