Due to the myriad of benefits brought by technology, like business flexibility, reduced costs, and bolstered collaboration, the VoIP telephony market is looking particularly sunny. In fact, according to Frost & Sullivan, the North American VoIP market (including SIP services) is expected to at least triple in revenue from $2.83 billion to $9.35 billion between 2013 and 2019.

“Businesses are transitioning from legacy private branch exchanges to IP-based Unified Communications platforms and, as such, are looking to VoIP access and SIP trunking services to complement these new platforms,” said Michael Brandenburg, communications analyst at Frost & Sullivan. He also noted that VoIP and SIP trunking offer business recovery and mobile features that “are simply not available on more traditional telecommunications services“.

However, there is no sunny sky without a few clouds (no joke here). Brandenburg declared that, even though the market is considerably expanding, the lack of customer awareness of the benefits of VoIP telephony and Unified Communications tools still presents a challenge for providers. The fact is that familiarity with these tools is still driven by the experience as a consumer with products such as Skype or Viber. And since there are tools that differ markedly in usage from UC tools, employees have trouble adapting their work habits to this new environment. A recent Ovum study revealed that over 40% of employees don’t understand or “understand a little” about Unified Communications tools and their role in their day-to-day jobs. VoIP is still a challenge for 20% of employees. Of course, this is an alarming situation because lack of awareness will impede on IP communications adoption at user level – actually, the only level that truly matters.

Because of that, Brandenburg suggests that providers enhance their portfolios with robust solutions while focusing on streamlining how easily their technologies can be implemented. And our suggestion for service providers is that, no matter what contract they have underway, they make sure they offer proper training as part of the package. To reap the benefits of VoIP and Unified Communications at an organizational level, service providers have to ensure that employees understand the tools, the benefits, and the learning curve required.

If you’re a decision maker for a service provider and you’re considering enhancing your company’s portfolio, take a look at VoipNow, our comprehensive cloud communications platform that offers benefits to businesses of all sizes, regardless of their industry. And of course, we offer proper training adapted to your needs!