Voice over Internet Protocol penetration among U.S. businesses will increase rapidly over the next few years, reaching 79 percent by 2013, compared to 42 percent at the end of 2009, reports In-Stat.  This penetration reflects companies having a VoIP solution deployed in at least one location.

Many businesses with existing VoIP capabilities chose to spend 2009 fortifying the proportion of their total voice capabilities dedicated to IP. This was often at the expense of expanding VoIP capabilities to new locations. In-Stat now finds that 41 percent of businesses with VoIP capability have no legacy TDM voice services, vs. 34 percent in 2008.

"VoIP adopters have a good understanding of the cost savings associated with VoIP, and have oriented their limited budgets to optimizing efficiency and savings by replacing legacy TDM voice solutions,” says David Lemelin, In-Stat analyst. “With businesses opening up fewer new locations than we have seen in recent years, much of this current investment is occurring at headquarters locations where efficiencies and savings can be maximized.”

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• Hosted IP Centrex has now surpassed Broadband IP Telephony as the leading revenue-generating, carrier-based business VoIP solution.
• 33 percent of businesses that have already deployed VoIP solutions report that recent economic conditions have caused them to slow additional deployment plans, compared to 30 percent reporting no change in plans.
• Broadband IP telephony revenues continue to grow and will more than double by 2013, compared to 2008. This growth will be fueled by single-user applications among increasingly distributed and mobile workforces.

The research covers the US business market for IP telephony. It includes an examination of the U.S. business market for IP telephony based on survey results of 1000 U.S. business decision makers currently using VoIP.