Inclarity CEO Ahal Besorai said that the opportunity for VoIP vendors was huge, especially for “IP Centrex”.
The company say cost savings come from operating one single converged network rather than two separate voice and data networks and also from using calls over the internet, which avoids network operators’ call charges.
“An IP PBX requires skills to manage, something a lot of SMEs simply cannot afford, hence they’re increasingly looking at IP Centrex as a way to benefit from lower operational costs without the management headache,” said Besorai. “The feedback I’ve got is that people want IP telephony, but the traditional barrier has been complexity. This is no longer an issue.”
Inclarity announced this week that the number of SMEs switching from traditional telephony to internet-based call services has rocketed by 750 per cent in just 12 months. The rapid rise is due to raised awareness of internet protocol (IP) telephony amongst SMEs, increased demand for flexibility and improved ease of use.
Researchers at Ovum estimate that the number of IP Centrex extensions in Western Europe will exceed two million by the end of 2009.