VoIP? Talk to the hand, say SMEs


1 Aug 2006

Many Irish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have yet to use voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technology despite the potential cost savings it offers.

Irish SMEs are still slow to take-up the new technology, according to the Irish-owned technology provider DCM Group, which has just entered into a partnership with Siemens to supply the vendor’s HiPath VoIP system.

The firms cited a recent survey from the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) which found that more than half of the small businesses they spoke to hadn’t heard of VoIP and only 3pc were using the new technology.

“Initial customer feedback suggests that we have hit a nerve in the Irish marketplace,” said Paddy Cotter, sales manager of DCM Group. He added that VoIP offers good return on investment, making it attractive for business leaders. “VoIP services are at prices that will simply be too low for SMEs to disregard.”

Lloyd O’Rourke, channel manager with Siemens, claimed: “Many companies have been able to reduce communications administration and management staffing over time as they converged separate voice and data networks into a single corporate infrastructure.”

According to Siemens, the main advantages of VoIP technology is that it lets businesses make savings in networking, call charges and reduces the cost of administering telephone systems around staff moves, additions and changes.

The vendor also said that IP telephony has lowered the cost of domestic calls between company sites and reduced the cost of premise networks and their administration and management.

By Gordon Smith