Mobile search 'is becoming massively popular'

Companies embracing modern technology such as VoIP hardware may also want to promote their products and solutions via smartphone apps and other software, as the number of people using their mobile to surf the web is increasing at a significant rate.

That is according to Colm Bracken, group search manager at Microsoft, who said increasing numbers of consumers are browsing the internet via mobile devices and this growth is being driven by the uptake of smartphones.

"I think currently 35 per cent of the population has a smartphone - this is predicted to grow to 50 per cent next year, according to Morgan Stanley, so that's a huge growth spurt for this area and there are knock-on effects to that," he stated.

Mr Bracken added businesses should not assume members of the public use smartphones in the same way that they use PCs, as the behaviour on both devices is very different, making them more suitable for some industry players than others.

According to a recent report from Compuware Corporation, 56 per cent of people in the UK expect a web page to load as quickly, or faster than it would were they using their broadband connection and PC at home.