VoIP News: June 2007

VoIP systems provider 3CX has launched an upgraded version of its Windows-based IP private branch exchange (PBX) phone system which offers companies more user features. Chief among these is the implementation of the Call Queuing feature which allows workers to view and answer calls in a queue system, meaning they can keep track of important calls or monitor the number of incoming connections. "The release of 3CX Phone System Enterprise edition is set to accelerate the massive change occurring in the enterprise telephony market space," said 3CX's chief executive officer Nick Galea.

VoIP systems are becoming more widely used in the UK and this is only set to increase in importance, according to a study by telecoms giant BT. According to the firm, the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Britain which make use of VoIP will nearly double in the next 12 months, moving from 25 per cent to 48 per cent. Commenting on the predictions, Peter Gradwell, managing director of a VoIP provider, said: "Internet telephony is definitely now a mainstream technology helping businesses to link together, reducing costs and making communications more effective.

IT security firms and companies using VoIP should protect their network using behavioural analysis, an expert has suggested. Geoff Sweeney, chief technical officer for IT security vendor Tier-3, said that behavioural analysis was the best way to keep a VoIP network secure despite recent research from Sipera Systems finding that the risks were increasing. "Sipera's research, which has identified no less than seven current threats against VoIP telephony users, shows how diverse IT security threats have become," he said.

South Korean company iRiver attempted to head off the success of Apple's iPod and now looks to do the same to the iPhone with its iRiver W10. This new product integrates a VoIP phone with an internet browser, an FM radio, an mp3 player, an e-book reader and a navigation tool to provide a huge amount of technology in the palm of your hand. The internet connection is used both for browsing the web and also to pinpoint where in the world a user is based on their connection through a Wi-Fi hotspot, which can then be used to display a map of the local area and highlight nearby points of interest.

VoIP call services are cutting into the market share of telecoms companies in both the business and the home, according to one industry expert. "People aren't doing VoIP trials anymore, it's going mainstream," asserts Robert Hackett, enterprise product manager at Siemens Ireland. "Even organisations that might be considered as conservative, such as government departments or public sector bodies, are all going for VoIP solutions as standard," he told Silicon Republic.