New Voices Mean Big Business
Vendors are battling for share in the Voice over Internet Protocol business market -- and packing new products with a host of features
By Rachael King
More companies are flocking to Voice over Internet Protocol technology to rein in costs and add a host of features to call services. By the end of the year, there will be 14.7 million enterprise IP telephony lines, about 21% of the U.S. installed enterprise base, up from 11% in 2004, according to Gartner.
That means swiftly rising sales. Synergy Research Group expects enterprise VoIP gear to generate $4.9 billion in sales this year and for that figure to more than double, to $10.6 billion, in 2009. Little surprise, then, that the market is getting crowded. In June alone, Microsoft and Vonage announced plans to join a list of enterprise VoIP providers that includes Cisco Systems, Avaya, Nortel, and several others.
Businesses considering ditching a dated phone system or contemplating a new VoIP vendor have plenty of phones and other devices to choose from. Here's a sampling.