A new survey by industry IT publication, Computerworld, has revealed that internet protocol (IP) telephony expertise will be among the most sought after IT-related skills required by enterprises in 2012.
The survey could be said to provide further evidence of the growing importance of IP telephony in the commercial sphere; a view shared on many occasions by other industry commentators.
According to the survey, the value of IP telephony knowledge for those seeking a position within a company is comparable with that of knowledge in several other key IT-related areas, including: programming and app development; project management and business analysis; networking and cloud computing; and, social media technology.
It is certainly the case that many businesses are increasingly turning to IP telephony applications such as business VoIP (voice over internet protocol) because of what they perceive as the latter’s many advantages over traditional business phone systems.
The main advantages usually cited for IP telephony and business VoIP are:
• Greater control over the management of business phone systems; in particular, the ability to add telephone line extensions swiftly and easily without the need for complex rewiring
• The ability for staff to take a telephone extension number with them wherever they go; including being able to make and receive calls on the same number and at the same tariff, whether they are at another office, in a hotel, or working from home
• Easier and more efficient call-routing and monitoring options for busy work areas such as call centres
• Lower phone costs
Many commentators also attribute the growth of IP telephony and business VoIP to the ability of small businesses to use the services of a business VoIP provider or VoIP reseller rather than needing to invest in expensive IP telephony equipment themselves.
