UK businesses without VoIP 'missing out'

News Article - 17 January 2007
Category: Business

Worries about implementing voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and any surrounding issues are preventing UK businesses from realising long-term benefits, a survey has shown.

According to research by IP specialist ShoreTel, 70 per cent of British companies find technology attractive because it has the potential to lower costs, however, more than a third are put off by short-term cost and resource obligations, reports ITPro.co.uk.

In the survey of 150 IT and network managers from various sectors, 80 per cent believed that using IP telephony would help in the running of their business, however 36 per cent said they believed the systems were too complex to manage.

"The research indicates just how many businesses have had negative experiences with their IP systems.

"Fortunately, with ... increasingly user-intuitive and easier to manage [systems], many of these fears are unfounded," said the company's managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Geoff Gudgion.

He added that the results highlighted that many business chiefs were focused on reducing costs before they had implemented a project, but in reality it was the enhancements to productivity which added the most value.

According to a recent study by O2 Ireland, more than half of the country's small and medium-sized business executives are unaware of what VoIP is.

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