Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been making waves throughout the global economy as it has proven its ability to provide high quality communications at a fraction of the cost of traditional communications. The greatest challenge could be that companies operating VoIP systems must ensure their security, yet many are failing to do so.

With the widespread adoption of VoIP, it stands to reason that there should be widespread implementation of security options. Recent research indicates however, that the exact opposite is true. Many U.S. businesses have yet to take the necessary steps to increase security for VoIP systems.

According to In-Stat (News - Alert), as businesses extend their IP telephony deployments to locations beyond the LAN, securing the VoIP infrastructure will become increasingly important. By neglecting to implement the proper security measures, these companies could be jeopardizing company data and communications. 

"According to an In-Stat survey of US businesses, no mechanisms for securing VoIP had more than 50% penetration across all sizes of business," said Victoria Fodale, In-Stat analyst, in a Monday statement. "Proactive measures, including periodic security audits and pre-deployment assessments had low percentages of penetration too, even among the larger organizations."

In-Stat also found that more than 80 percent of survey respondents have deployed some type of VoIP solution in their companies. Between 2007 and 2010, 168 million IP PBX lines will be shipped into the business premises. In addition, the usage of collaboration and conferencing products that leverage VoIP is increasing.

This research, U.S. Businesses Lag in Securing VoIP, covers the U.S. business market for VoIP. The report provides VoIP equipment shipment information and end-user survey data, such as traditional and IP PBX (News - Alert) line shipment forecast, 2006-2011; IP Phone forecast by phone type, 2006-2011; and data from a survey of 299 IT professionals about their security plans for VoIP technology.

In-Stat expects that growth in the business IP market has tremendous potential to disrupt the traditional telephone industry on multiple levels. Service providers, equipment manufacturers and system integrators are increasingly offering different types of business VoIP solutions.

IT managers and C-level executives are increasingly recognizing the cost savings and flexibility that VoIP solutions can provide to the enterprise, but there are still obstacles to overcome before comprehensive adoption takes place, such as security, integration and end-user transparency.

It is highly promoted by firms such as In-Stat that the business adoption of IP communications will also be influenced by how companies integrate other communications functionalities, such as wireless connectivity via WiFi (News - Alert) and WiMAX, IM and video applications.

This next-generation technology will continue to enjoy widespread demand and integration, making security solutions that much more valuable to these companies. For those that offer these solutions, the market is ripe with opportunity and those that anticipate market trends will be in position to benefit.

 

 

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.