Keeping Business VoIP Up and Running

The Business VoIP market is poised to continue its growth at a rate of nearly 10 percent through 2021. This figure is based on three key components that will keep the VoIP motor running, per Technavio.

The three factors keeping business VoIP in motion to its next phase are the increase in a mobile workforce, BYOD, and better 3G/4G/5G hotspots. By 2020, 72.3 percent of workers will be mobile, roughly three-quarters of the American workforce. This year alone, 75 percent of adults are smartphone owners but this number is close to 100 percent when it comes to millennials. According to a Monster survey, 48 percent of employees see the demise of a traditional workplace, being replaced by mobile offices.

VoIP allows for a true mobile workforce as voice and video calls need to be accessible in remote locations. VoIP-based calls used to be limited due to bandwidth barriers on business networks, wireless routers, and hotspots. The expansion of 3G and 4G to rural spots while 5G emerges in urban areas will provide better and stronger wireless signals with more expansive coverage. Calls can now be taken in former dead zones such as elevators, subways, etc.

5G will allow for high gigabyte speeds in the homes or smaller areas; previously, giant cell towers were needed for 4G efficiency but this may no longer be the case. Wider coverage via 5G will mean better voice quality and the ability to stream videos/transfer files mid-conversation. These advancements will continue to help the BYOD worker as 90 percent of companies are reliant upon employees using personal devices on work projects. Especially important on personal devices is the ability to check and answer work emails.

As 2018 approaches, 77 percent of companies want employees to use personal devices for work purposes. There are some worries in regard to using personal smartphones but Frost & Sullivan found that productivity with BYOD elevates by 34 percent. There are a few reasons as to why: 42 percent of employees feel innovation is increased via BYOD; 41 percent like the flexibility; and 39 percent feel smartphones enhance collaboration quality.

Businesses will leverage solutions that increase productivity, and with business VoIP, the proof is in the pudding. 

Edited by Maurice Nagle