IP telephony adoption has increased dramatically in the last two years: from 17 percent in 2008 to 27 percent in 2010, an increase of 59 percent, among small and mid-sized companies, according to Consultant Dan Sachar of Inzenka, a management consultancy.
The study, of 700 small and medium businesses, also suggests the opportunity is greatest among firms with 20 to 50 employees. The reason is that adoption among larger firms is higher.
About 43 percent of respondents working at firms with 500 or more employees say IP telephony already is deployed.
Just 17 percent of respondents from firms with five to 19 employees say IP telephony is in place, while 22 percent of respondents with 20 to 49 employees say they already have IP telephony.
But the survey found that two thirds of respondents with 20 to 100 employees indicated they planned to deploy IP telephony within two years.