Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services are particularly useful for small businesses, allowing them to stay in touch with employees and customers when they are out of the office, according to an industry expert.

Colin Duffy, Internet Telephony Services Providers' Association (ITSPA) council member and chief executive of ITSPA founder members VoIPfone, said that services such as having voicemails forwarded as MP3s to your email inbox or calls to a landline number redirected to a mobile can help small and medium-sized business owners.

Mr Duffy added: "With voicemail, your inbound call is answered by the network, the message is left, and then converted to an MP3 file and emailed to you.

"So you can pick up your voicemail wherever you are, so long as you have access to the internet."

He went on to say that many companies set up a landline number as customers like to feel they are speaking to a real, grounded business, but then put it on call forward so they can receive calls when they are out of the office.

Earlier this week Web Wire published research by iLocus indicating that investment in VoIP technology has seen an increase in investment over the last year, despite the current uncertain economic climate.


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