VoIP is 'just getting started'

VoIP services still have plenty of room to grow in the decade ahead, according to one expert.

Doug Mohney, contributing editor at TMCnet.com, suggested that VoIP providers are likely to be some of the key growth players in future years.

This is because the amount spent on circuit-switched business voice services still eclipses business VoIP spending, a trend that is likely to be reversed over the next five years.

"It's circuit-switched business voice that is doomed to extinction over the next decade as people roll forward to IP communication for lower-cost voice, better quality voice through wideband voice, and slowly but surely, to embrace unified communications," he said.

The fact that adoption rates of VoIP services grew during the recession is further evidence of the appeal that they hold for businesses looking to cut costs.

Mr Mohney said that we are moving towards an all-IP world, with even the latest mobile broadband services being built on an all-IP infrastructure.

As reliance on legacy hardware declines, a switch to VoIP services will be seen more and more as a natural progression.