VoIP migration increasing in European and US firms

Forrester Research, an independent technology and market research company that provides its clients with advice about technology’s impact on business and consumers, has polled 516 companies across North America and Europe, enquiring about their current telephony solutions and plans to upgrade in the near future.

The research discovered that an increasing number of European and North American companies are migrating their telephony solutions from the Public Switched Telephone Network over to VoIP phones.

Some 35% of respondents said they expected to complete migration to IP telephony solutions by 2008, while nine out of ten companies said the switch would be completed within five years.

Nearly a quarter (23%) of the businesses polled had already completed the switch to VoIP software, up from just 14% in 2006.

The study also found that 54% of all companies are planning to increase their spending on IP telephony hardware and services, compared with 51% in 2006.

The report concluded that demand for VoIP services will continue to evolve beyond basic telephony upgrades as enterprises demand increased flexibility and mobile solutions for their workers.

Forrester Research has four research centres in the US and four European research centres in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, and Paris.