Integrated VoIP solutions can 'improve' business efficiency

Integrating VoIP solutions with other forms of communication can improve business efficiency, experts claim.

Hugo Harber, the director of convergence and network strategy at IT firm Star, claimed businesses that introduce a Unified Communications (UC) strategy can make significant savings.

UC allow companies to operate all methods of communication in one package, reducing the amount of software and infrastructure needed.

Mr Harber said: "By providing integrated conferencing and collaboration tools you can reduce the need to travel and increase productivity.

"Phones, email, shared desk tops, and web meetings can offer high levels of flexible working."

A recent report by research firm Frost & Sullivan revealed that the web conferencing services market grew by 19.3 per cent in Europe in 2009, driven partially by a growth in unified communications-enabled homeworking.