Phone System Trends to Monitor in 2014 and Beyond

The last decade has seen the spirited transition of communication tools from traditional landlines to Internet-enabled phone systems. Industry research firms like Forrester Research, Gartner Inc., and Frost & Sullivan are saying the same thing about the future of business phones, marking a major shift toward Internet-based systems. Current phone system trends point to business owners’ efforts to further utilize and optimize what the web has to offer.

Phone system trends that can affect your business

There is no denying that uniform communication trends are taking shape from continent to continent. For many businesses, the great transition has one important goal: to increase revenues and reduce costs. Here are the upcoming trends to watch for:

VoIP will be the preferred communication method. The Internet is indeed the best thing that ever happened to communications. With a clearer, speedier, and more reliable exchange of information, the use of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phone systems will only increase during 2014 and beyond. Additionally, the increasing mobility of consumers and workforces will compound the increased use of VoIP.

Cloud-based VoIP options are on the rise. Cloud computing is rapidly gaining ground because of its ease of use and cost-effectiveness. Small- and medium-sized businesses that cannot afford expensive infrastructure but want to avail themselves of enterprise-level voice quality are its main target market. Finally, for businesses that have unpredictable use of their communication systems, the cloud could be the key to their cost-saving efforts because of its scalability and flexibility.

Mobile VoIP will see dramatic growth. Analysts predict that about 80 percent of businesses will embrace mobile VoIP by 2014, with users reaching the one billion mark in the next five years. This means displacing PCs as well as legacy and traditional infrastructures, and increased competition in the mobile market. We are seeing this happening in the raging mobile device battles, with Android battling rivals iPhone, Microsoft, and the now endangered species, Blackberry.

Apprehension over “BYOD” VoIP security risks. In an environment where employees can use their own gadgets —”bring your own device” — for work-related tasks, enterprises are open to VoIP fraud, especially if they have not set rules for full control. VoIP providers are now developing solutions to detect and prevent fraud, as well as root out any in-progress fraudulent activity.

Phone system trends seem to lead definitively to all things Internet, in conjunction with what cloud and mobile companies can offer. In short, the market is consolidating into an integrated ecosystem that can provide consumers simplicity of use, lower cost, and security.