Big business has been onto the virtues of VoIP for years. Companies such as Cisco, Avaya and Nortel sell billions of dollars worth of VoIP systems annually to large corporations. For big business there is no real alternative to VoIP business phone systems. For a start the traditional TDM option is no longer manufactured in volume. Secondly, businesses with distributed national and international operations can make significant cost savings from using VoIP. They can eliminate the PSTN costs associated with long distance “internal” calls.

The story is different for SMBs, SOHO operators and the general public. These segments also want to use VoIP and save money. Their interest was initially sparked via millions of: Skype, Google Talk, Jajah and Gizmo Project … downloads and the promise of “Free Phone Calls.” They are a bargain, but not an alternative to a commercial grade business phone service. They’re OK for calling friends and family, but not an option for selling a product or closing a deal.

There are two recent developments that have made VoIP phone systems accessible to SMBs.

(1) Hosted VoIP PBX or Virtual VoIP PBX services.

(2) VoIP PBX appliances suitable for SMB and SOHO users.

Both options will deliver business quality VoIP and SMBs are scrambling to sign up for one or the other. They don’t necessarily obtain the same benefits as large corporations from using a VoIP business phone system. Typically SMBs don’t have the scale or distributed operations required to bulk up enough savings from simply eliminating the cost of “internal calls.” As a consequence the arguments for SMBs switching to VoIP usually revolve around the ability to project a more professional image, access to sexy phone features or the promise of Unified Communications.

Inevitably, VoIP PBX appliances and VoIP software will become cheaper, smaller and more convenient. High speed broadband is already ubiquitous and just as the computer became a household consumer item, so will the VoIP phone system. Households will have a main number and family members, especially teenage daughters will have personal phone extensions, voice mail boxes and follow me profiles.

Is there a VoIP bubble on the horizon? Probably, a VoIP phone system is something that everyone can use. There is an enormous market to be tapped (pun intended) and fortunes will be made on the back of innovative business models.

Chris Green is a communications consultant and writer. He notes that [http://www.business-phone-tools.com/voip-phone-systems.html]VoIP phone systems have achieved respectability, in fact VoIP is now the default option for business telephony. In selecting a business phone system the choice is between VoIP and VoIP. Green notes that large corporations have been using VoIP for years. It’s now the turn of SMBs and SOHO operators. Might we see a VoIP PBX appliance in every home within a decade?

Further articles on this topic can be found at his web site: [http://www.business-phone-tools.com/index.html]Business Phone Tools.

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