VoIP savings 'spur investment'

Savings made by switching to voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technology are being reinvested to help companies improve their market position, an industry expert has said.

Rich Costello, a research director at technology analyst Gartner, told CRM Buyer that savings on telecommunication costs were the "main attraction" for companies that had switched to VoIP.

Many are now using the money they saved to invest in the latest advances in VoIP technology and get ahead of the competition, he added.

These features include intelligent dialer systems, interactive live chat support and unified communications, which integrates VoIP with email and instant messaging to allow employees to access information in any location.

"Now that many companies have put VoIP infrastructures in place, some are looking at ways to leverage their investments and gain a competitive advantage," Mr Costello said.

Founded in 1979, Gartner is an independent technology-related market research company that employed over 1,000 research analysts and consultants in 75 countries.