VoIP spending 'to rise by 60 per cent'

Expenditure on VoIP solutions is expected to grow by 60 per cent over the next four years, according to new research.

A report by In-Stat revealed businesses of all sizes will adopt this level of increase, from small office home office (SoHo) companies to multinational corporations.

Overall spending on VoIP will jump by more than half by 2014, the survey continued, with demand in the professional services industry growing fastest, followed by healthcare and social services.

Investment in traditional telephony systems will decrease by six per cent among SoHo firms and five per cent in the retail sector, it stated.

The report suggested recent economic problems have caused business communication budgets to be cut.

"Although that remains a predominant forecast there are specific areas of business spending that will buck that trend," it concluded.

Recent research by Ofcom found the UK is one of the slowest countries to adopt VoIP, with five subscribers for every 100 individuals.