Signature of VoIP 2.0 will be specific vertical applications

Now that Voice over IP has become an acceptable replacement to traditional landline telephony in both the enterprise and consumer markets, it’s time to start asking what’s next? Does VoIP have a purpose beyond replicating the circuit switched phone network? A panel of experts gave the 40,000-foot view of the next generation of VoIP at the Ottawa Venture & Technology Summit earlier this month. "Nobody’s asking the question is Voice over IP the right technology?" said Christian Szpilfogel, VP of strategic business at Mitel Networks Corp. The fact that this question isn’t being asked anymore signifies the end of VoIP 1.0. Instead, the questions now are how can VoIP enhance business by driving additional revenue opportunities, enhancing the portal experience and providing new capabilities, he continued adding, "in terms of where 2.0 really is…at a simplistic level it’s about extending your services out beyond the enterprise and getting away from this infrastructure." Howard Thaw, COO of Ottawa-based Iotum Corp., concurred. "The monetization occurs not in the landline replacement…it’s in these vertical applications that you build around dating, around real estate, the legal industry, the financial industry, that’s where the real opportunities are," he said. "I think what we’re going to see is that applications that are very specific to the way people work in the industry to service their customers are going to be what dominates the driving of what technologies we use." Panel moderator Will Stofega, research manager for IDC’s VoIP services program, said the value of what’s available today is not readily apparent. "There are a lot of services that are offered that are just driven by price in terms of user adoption," he explained. "But value, I think, is where some of this stuff has to start to go. That’s where we see adoption and more and more advanced applications." And one of the benefits of IP networks is the barrier to entry for applications has gone down. Szpilfogel said this makes it much easier for developers to build an application that focuses on a specific vertical and tries to enhance a businesses ability to address their customers. Software-based telephony applications are also easier to integrate into, and spread throughout, the enterprise space. "With the cost being removed for building things today you don’t need to go in and ask the IT manager’s permission to try something," said Thaw. "You take it into the office, show people how it makes your day more productive or how it allows you to better service your customer and the next thing you know it’s being adopted by your friends and their friends. It’s all very viral." The market, said Stofega, is increasingly becoming more receptive to new applications. He mentioned that while he recently had a conversation with a CTO from a medium-sized business who said that his generation still barely knows how to use voice mail, a generation that has grown up with technology is entering the workforce. These new workers will be far more apt to turn to IP applications when looking for ways to increase their productivity. "One of the things that VoIP 2.0 is going to bring is more intelligent endpoints," added Thaw. "It’s going to drive the industry into building things people can use in their private life and in business."

Signature of VoIP 2.0 will be specific vertical applications

News | 10/27/2006 4:00 am EDT

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