Gartner implies VoIP increase

VoIP hardware distribution looks set to rise as a Gartner report (January 13th 2010) shows the strongest growth rate in PC shipments in seven years. More computers mean greater infrastructure to support VoIP solutions.

The fourth quarter of 2009 saw a 22.1 per cent increase from the fourth quarter of 2008, however it should be noted that these numbers compare to a very weak quarter a year ago, due to the economic downturn at the time.

"These preliminary results indicate the recovery of the PC market on a global level," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "The EMEA region returned to positive shipment growth for the first time in three quarters, and Latin America and Japan also recorded shipment increases."

Shipment growth was driven largely by low-priced consumer mobile PCs, such as netbooks. These devices are ideal for VoIP on-the-go.

Part of the growth has been put down to the launch of Windows 7, which has driven hardware sales and provided a strong marketing platform for hardware over the holiday period.

The report showed that consumers had become more price-conscious during the downturn, so the use of VoIP may soon ramp up, as consumers switch to a cheap, low-cost communication solution.