With IP phone makers' increasing use of video technology, better price points and other factors at play, VoIP penetration among U.S. businesses is expected to increase rapidly over the next few years, reaching 79 percent by 2013.

 

At the end of 2009, 42 percent of businesses took up VoIP technology for at least one location.

 

That data – packaged in the In-Stat (News - Alert) report “U.S. Business VOIP Overview: Optimization Trumps Expansion” – is just the beginning. In-Stat’s report also reveals that 33 percent of businesses that have already deployed VoIP solutions report that recent economic conditions have caused them to slow additional deployment plans, compared with 30 percent reporting no change in plans.

 

“VoIP adopters have a good understanding of the cost savings associated with VoIP, and have oriented their limited budgets to optimizing efficiency and savings by replacing legacy TDM voice solutions,” said David Lemelin, In-Stat analyst. “With businesses opening up fewer new locations than we have seen in recent years, much of this current investment is occurring at headquarters locations where efficiencies and savings can be maximized.”

 

Another reason more enterprises are opting for VoIP could be the fast-falling costs of advanced applications, such as video conferencing.

 

Video gained traction in 2009, with a number of IP phone manufacturers rolling out units equipped with the technology.

 

Chinese IP phone maker Yealink (News - Alert) is one of them. In November, the company released its VP-2009 IP multimedia phone, which sports a seven-inch touchscreen interface, a TI Davinci chipset and H.263 and H.264 codec technology. Its intuitive touchscreen makes the phone a nice option for SMBs and consumers who want to make quick video-and-voice-over-IP calls right from their work space, according to Yealink.

 

The SIP-based VP-2009 is also adaptive to bandwidth adjustments, when the network environment is not so desirable. 

 

The phone “allows people easily and economically stay in close face-to-face contact with family and friends,” said David Chen, the president of Yealink. “But while one can see the many benefits of the multi-video phone, the phone’s price is the key point in the availability for common users.”

 

And even though we’re technically out of a recession, a good price point is key to an IP phone maker’s success – especially when it comes to enterprise-based VoIP uptake.