By Michelle Amodio, TMCnet Contributor

The first recognizable VoIP software showed up sometime around 1995 and, since then, it’s been a rather growing technology both for residential communications and business communications needs. Now that we’re in 2013, VoIP has come a long way. Many businesses have migrated over to a VoIP system for its cost-effective, revenue-generating features, not to mention it has become the keystone to how businesses operate. Effective communication means effective business, so it’s no surprise that VoIP has and will continue to see serious growth.

A report from IBISWorld reveals that the VoIP industry has an estimated worth of $15B in annual revenue. Since 2007, the growth rate was clocked at 16.7 percent – a rate calculated in 2012 – and VoIP has contributed to the job market through approximately 860 companies.

In a tight economy, that’s nothing to scoff at. The technology sector shows a lot of promise when it comes to boosting employment numbers, whether it is tech reps, service providers, customer service technicians or companies in need of virtual office workers of all kinds, VoIP is at the hub of these instances.

Virtual offices alone save on rent and transportation costs and expand upon the employee pool. Businesses can see a savings of up to $10,000 by utilizing the virtual environment, and the virtual environment is, of course, powered by VoIP technology.

According to the report, VoIP is cheaper to implement, so combined with the savings of hiring employees virtually, the trend to virtualize is something we’ll likely see more of in the future, along with expanding VoIP adoption.

“The increasing robustness of the internet will allay fears about VoIP quality and reliability, another major hurdle to adoption by the business segment,” said IBISWorld industry analyst Kevin Boyland in a statement on the report.

Phone.com (News - Alert), a provider of phone solutions, says that as a VoIP provider, caring about the needs of their residential and business customers, as well as the infrastructure of the technologies used is the bottom line. Free or “near-free” VoIP services tend to fall short when it comes to providing the time saving and feature-rich solutions that are necessary for productivity. In the end, it is all about what you pay for.  Cheap does not always translate into functional.

Whether it’s for residential needs, business communication effectiveness or migrating towards a virtual office, VoIP is at the helm of effective communication.

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