VoIP saves Cambridge £1.2m

The cost efficiency of using internet-based telephone systems has been highlighted by Cambridgeshire County Council which claims to have saved more than a million pounds.

According to reports, the local authority is £1.2 million richer after installing VoIP technology.

The savings were made both through a reduction in the cost of telephone calls and a decrease in the amount of travel compared to what was necessary before the service was installed.

VoIP is also expected to save money as its flexibility means that the amount office space that was previously needed by the council can now be reduced.

"We could not achieve flexible working using dedicated numbers with dedicated phones, which is why the number portability function of VoIP - where their numbers follow staff regardless of which workstation they log into - appealed," Alan Shields, technical architect at Cambridgeshire County Council told Computer Weekly.

"It is not just plugging phones into PCs. Real-time applications must happen in real time, and unless you have experience in video conferencing, you need to understand how to administer quality of service," he added.