UK businesses afraid of switch to VoIP

A new report from Quocirca and conducted on behalf of Shoretel has found that businesses in the UK are scared of switching to Voice over IP telecommunications because of the initial setup cost involved in buying and installing new equipment.

Some of the main findings from the Quocirca report were a lack of understanding with regards the benefits of using VoIP as well as the fear of configuring an IP-based PBX. So it’s cost that matters, well that is to be expected. However, the report also revealed that businesses with a Voice over IP setup reported higher productivity and therefore increased profits.

Another report, published in the first few days of 2007, suggested that 57% of UK SMBs are already using VoIP but many were not aware of the benefits afforded by an integrated voice and data network.

Clearly there is a trend emerging in that the UK, for all it’s financial might and international trading, is lagging far behind other economies such as China in terms of the adoption of VoIP.