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What are the major developments in VoIP technology we can expect to see in the next 12 months?
The VoWLAN market shows a lot of promise for 2006, especially with security fears being resolved with the ratification of the 802.11i standard. Moreover, the increase in WLAN deployments has also set the ball rolling with customers beginning to appreciate the cost-effective benefits of using voice applications over WLAN's.
With evolving standards, better handset capabilities and enhanced WLAN infrastructure, VoWLAN has the potential to amalgamate both voice and data services into an attractive package, thereby compelling both mobile and fixed line carriers to consider this converged technology as part of their overall strategic solution in 2006.
IP contact centers will also act as a major player in pushing IP Telephony deployment in 2006.
How will they impact the end user?
Mobile phones currently cost organizations a great deal of money. In part, it's because calls are more expensive. That's not a problem, however, when people are working away from the organizations' offices -- the ability to keep in touch delivers benefits that offset the additional costs. But increasingly employees are using their mobile phones as their principal means of making and receiving calls, regardless of whether they are in an office where a lower cost alternative is available.
In 2006, we will see an increase in adoption of dual mode handsets, which use a VoIP infrastructure when in wireless range. This will mean that mobile spend will be reduced greatly, especially when used for on net calls, while ensuring employees have the flexibility they demand.
Which sector will be the next big adopter of VoIP technology in 2006?
Once the preserve of the cost conscious techno-savvy consumer, VoIP is becoming a mainstream technology used by an increasing number of organizations worldwide to deliver phone services to their employees.
There are still certain sectors, however, that have been slow to adopt the technology. Over the next 12 months, we expect to see the biggest growth in VoIP adoption to be within the government sector. This will be closely followed by the financial and insurance sector and then small and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs). Although these sectors can be very cautious about investing in new technology, the signs indicate that we'll see a big rise in adoption in 2006.
In addition, consumer take up will mushroom this year. More and more people simply want to have this facility in their homes.
What will be the biggest challenges to the adoption of VoIP in 2006?
The challenges to the adoption of VoIP in 2006 will be similar to the ones in 2005.
At the moment, the reasons to move to IPT are not compelling enough for all sectors. Aggressive minute pricing means that traditional toll bypass savings are not always realized.
In addition, some companies are struggling to understand the dynamics in their own organization. This can make in difficult to devise a roadmap which not only works well, but is cost effective too.
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