Efficiency benefits and cheaper prices attract smaller firms to VoIP

Recent months have seen the cost of IP telephony fall, making VoIP a more attractive option for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), according to one expert.

Maren Bennette, leader of the Unified Communications Forum of the Communications Management Association (CMA), explained that smaller firms have been more willing to adopt the new technology as its complexity, as well as the cost, has dropped.

"It is the fall in the price of IP handsets, together with the simplification of IP telephony systems (at the lower end of the manufacturers' product portfolio) that has made it more attractive for smaller companies and organisations to install IP telephony and make use of VoIP services," he said.

However, he added that the potential for boosting worker efficiency by allowing them to work securely when away from the office was also enticing SMEs towards adopting a VoIP telephony system, especially when unified communications systems were implemented.

"[IP telephony] has the potential to improve organisational effectiveness and thus improve business or organisational performance," Mr Bennette said.

"This would be achieved... by implementation of unified communications applications, such as unified messaging [which merges voice and email], audio and video conferencing to bring together team members in different locations without the need to travel and the merging of fixed and mobile communications."