A research company has suggested than any small to medium business wishing to keep to high service level agreements (SLAs) whilst maintaining a high quality of service (QoS) should seriously consider making the move to a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) business telephone system.
As part of a prediction of the market for virtual private networking (VPN) leading up to the year 2016, Research and Markets has analysed data traffic, including multimedia such as video and streamed audio over wide area networks, and has concluded that these elements are fuelling the surge in demand for the technology.
Many SMEs making the switch to IP telephony implement multi – protocol label switching (MPLS), which is a vital part of modern business phone systems as it enables communications between separate firms who have QoS and SLAs in place.
The study notes that at the moment, more than 90 per cent of the worldwide VPN market is comprised of networks driven by MPLS technology.
However, as more small to medium businesses replace their out-dated landline telephone systems with IP telephony, this is expected to skyrocket. The study predicts that the IP VPN market should increase by almost half by the year 2016. This would mean that the market would be worth a massive £18.6 billion ($30 billion).
This report contrasts sharply with a previous one. In 2006, Research and Markets found that around one in 20 managers had made mobility a priority for their business phone systems. However, as the accessibility of broadband has increased, so has the demand for cheap phone calls. Businesses have especially seen the benefits of VoIP, as the uptake in demand for Smartphones has seen a more flexible approach to IP telephony, with IP telephony systems being flexible enough incorporate them into the network.
Research and Markets feel this growing trend towards mobile IP telephony will continue up to 2016.
