Big guns boost awareness of voice over IP

Large corporations' involvement in VoIP could draw attention to the technology and help resellers

Large corporations’ involvement in VoIP could draw attention to the technology and help resellers.

Resellers could benefit as brand-heavy, giant corporations enter the voice over IP (VoIP) space, raising awareness of the technology.

Yahoo, Google and Microsoft have all looked to acquire VoIP services and enter the potentially lucrative market. Last week eBay bought VoIP provider Skype for $2.6bn.

Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at EuroLAN, supported the notion that awareness is rising, and said the VoIP space represented a huge opportunity for resellers.

“It is a positive move, as it will create awareness and will assist the channel in selling these products,” he said.

Humphreys added that the corporate VoIP market will be dominated by major players such as Cisco. The entry of firms such as eBay will affect the low end of the market, he said.

Bernie Dodwell, alliances manager at distributor Westcon, did not see larger corporations as a threat to the channel because they do not have the expertise of resellers.

“It is a great thing for the domestic user, but I can’t see large organisations making an impact at a corporate level. Microsoft is always a threat, but it doesn’t have the expertise in networking,” he said.

Graham Francis, managing director at VoIP reseller Vocale, agreed that the interest from large firms will boost awareness of the VoIP market.

“Resellers sell bags more features that the large corporations and businesses need. Resellers can still sell on support as firms will need services alongside VoIP applications,” he said.