IP telephony solutions could support social business platforms

Companies implementing social business platforms could find IP telephony solutions to be one way to support many of the features of such networks.

According to IDC, "cloud-based social business platforms will become increasingly important" between now and the end of 2011.

The forecast is one of ten trends outlined for the European software market due to the expansion of cloud computing.

IP telephony solutions could be a good way to add social networking capabilities to existing business infrastructure.

Many VoIP phones already incorporate social features as standard - ranging from instant messaging to conferencing, from photo caller ID to presence notification.

David Bradshaw, research manager for European software as a service and cloud services at IDC, says both vendors and buyers are now viewing cloud infrastructure as a "core issue" in the rapidly developing market.

"IT buyers are looking for ways for cloud to increase agility while cutting cost," he adds.