Nigel Jones, marketing and business development manager at Alcatel-Lucent says that the principle for vendors then is to keep it simple.
“Cautious businesses looking to invest don’t want to be bamboozled and distracted by new VoIP-enabled technologies that their employees do not actually need. Yes, some VoIP tools could help them improve productivity and efficiency, but only if these solutions are tailored appropriately to their size, and suitable for their deployment and management needs.
“The most successful vendors in this market will be the ones that engage with end-users to focus on employees' specific needs, jobs and the structure of the company, and then identify the most suitable and cost-effective method of VoIP deployment. In addition, customers need re-assurance and assistance from vendors on the growing security concerns and challenges to update their core data network infrastructure – the ability to offer a cohesive solutions portfolio and associated services across all these areas will be key.
"Equally important, businesses should look for solutions that are easy to upgrade without a need for additional hardware, which will allow them to pay as they grow, otherwise they risk having a communications system only capable of serving a limited number of the people as the company grows."