After a slow start, voice over IP (VOIP) technology is starting to boom in SA, according to the latest VOIP in SA study by research firm World Wide Worx.
The company`s MD, Arthur Goldstuck, says after not meeting people`s expectations upon introduction, VOIP has started to deliver "fireworks".
"At the end of 2007, half of all corporations [surveyed] were making use of VOIP, and that usage level is expected to rise to 64%, in 2008."
At the same time, while taking on the technology at a slower rate, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are showing increasing interest in VOIP.
The use of VOIP among SMEs for business purposes rose from 9%, in 2006, to 18%, in 2007, after rising from 2%, in 2004, when the legislation allowing for it to be used outside company networks was introduced, says Goldstuck.
"This represents an effective doubling in each of the years in which it has been deployed among SMEs," explains Goldstuck.
This growth rate will not necessarily be sustained though, and Goldstuck says a more realistic target would be for SME uptake to match that of 2007, "ie, to reach around the 25%-30% level in 2008".
Goldstuck says most of the companies using VOIP, be they big or small, are doing so within the context of least-cost routing, which enables any phone call made from inside the company to be routed via the most cost-effective route.
World Wide Worx`s research was conducted during the second half of 2007 and the beginning of 2008. It was based on interviews with 100 South African corporations and 800 SMEs.
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