VoIP can help businesses to go green

Going green by introducing unified communications such as VoIP is much "easier than most people think," an expert claims.

David Schenkel, chief technology officer at Objectworld Communications, has urged businesses to consider software-based communications as a way to improve environmentally-friendly practice.

Writing on eWeek, Mr Schenkel said that "going green with unified communications is easier than most people think".

"The costs of air travel, both to your bottom line and to the environment, are substantial. Voice conferencing allows employees to do business with their partners, suppliers and customers over the phone," he explained.

"A unified communications solution that includes voice over IP (VoIP) telephony can help bring voice and even videoconferencing, to your business at a very low cost."

Mr Schenkel also advised other green alternatives, such as eliminating separate fax machines and lines and purchasing new software rather than wasting still usable hardware.

The Fibre-to-the-Home Council Europe recently launched a software tool able to predict the environmental impact of future fibre roll-out plans.