The use of IP telephony within business has the potential to improve small and medium-sized enterprise organisational effectiveness and performance, it has been claimed.

Maren Bennette, leader of the Communications Management Association's (CMA) Unified Communications Forum, says that the implementation of 'unified communications' applications, such as unified messaging, video and audio conferencing and the merging of fixed and mobile communications, can bring considerable benefits to businesses.

"It has the potential to improve organisational effectiveness and thus improve business or organisational performance. This would be achieved not by the use of IP telephony in place of traditional TDM telephony," she commented.

She added that VoIP had less potential in terms of lowering SME costs.

"If by VoIP one is meaning the use of IP to carry communications traffic over the Internet (i.e. Skype) then there is less impact to organisational effectiveness," she commented.

"But there is a potential impact on business performance, in as much as VoIP services will save money," she added.

Price comparison site Gocompare.com, which allows consumers to evaluate different products on the market, such as car and home insurance, has been given membership to the British Insurance Brokers' As...

Mid Sussex Conservative MP Nicholas Soames has been banned from driving for two months for driving a quad bike on a public road without any vehicle insurance.Crawley magistrates' court fined the 60-ye...

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has set up a team of broker development and key account managers to strengthen ties with clients in the UK.The broker development team comprises Matt Br...