[February 03, 2011]

State-of-the-Market Survey Reveals Small & Mid-Size Businesses Eager for Cloud-Adoption to Enhance Productivity and ROI

Fonality, North America's fastest growing business communications company, today released the results of a comprehensive survey conducted by Webtorials that focused on the communications needs of small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). The "2011 Small and Medium-Sized Business Communications Plans and Priorities" State-of-the-Market Report polled highly skilled, technically proficient professionals considered to be on the "leading edge" of technology adoption. Respondents emphasized that cloud-based business applications or AaaS (Anything as a Service) will be increasingly embraced to control costs, and return on investment (ROI) is a key factor in their decision-making.

"Based on the results of this survey, it's clear that SMBs see the value of cloud-based solutions and are eager to benefit from a productivity and ROI perspective," said Fonality (News - Alert) president and CEO, Dean Mansfield. "Cloud-based communications tools in particular can be leveraged by companies to drive competitive diffrentiation while maximizing working capital."

Key findings of the survey include:

• ROI of increased productivity from office communications is the most compelling factor in technology adoption
• 88 percent cite "maximizing working capital and/or cash flow" as a major factor in SMB technology decisions
• Minimizing total cost of ownership is the "ultimate goal" of adopting service-based offerings
• Mobility and Unified Communications (News - Alert) are recognized by a strong majority of those surveyed as key technologies to increase efficiency and profitability
• Most respondents see their current communications solutions as being "good," but 78 percent also seek to improve their capabilities
• There is a very high amount of interest in cloud-based solutions and an excellent prognosis for cloud-based AaaS (Anything as a Service), with market opportunities still emerging

"The needs of small and mid-size businesses differ significantly from large enterprises," said Steve Taylor, editor-in-chief and publisher for Webtorials. "This study shows that SMBs have a notable disposition to leveraging cloud-based technology to enhance their operations and their communications capabilities in particular."

The complete findings of the "2011 SMB Communications Plans and Priorities State-of-the-Market Report" are available at http://www.fonality.com/resources/white-papers/2011-smb-communications-plans-and-priorities.html.

Designed for small and mid-size companies, Fonality offers VoIP, Unified Communications and contact center solutions that are simple to use, affordable and easy to deploy. The company's cloud-based model provides the same services of traditional, on-premise IP systems without costly hardware, infrastructure or lengthy implementation cycles. Total cost of ownership is dramatically reduced by 50 percent, or more, while users enjoy access to powerful communications services usually reserved for the largest of companies.

About Fonality

Fonality is North America's fastest growing business communications company and a leading provider of cloud-based, VoIP and Unified Communications solutions for small and mid-sized businesses. With a unique software model approach, Fonality provides all the features of legacy providers without the cost or complexity. Founded in 2004, Fonality has delivered more than two billion phone calls across the cloud while enabling more than one million users of open-standards based communications software. Investors include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Intel Capital (News - Alert) and Azure Capital Partners. Visit www.fonality.com for more information or call 877-FONALITY.

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