Press & PR

VoIP telephony systems have been shown to provide real savings for those who choose to set up a connection as Cambridgeshire county council claimed to have saved over a million pounds since installing VoIP technology.

According to reports, the savings were made in two ways – by cheaper calls and a reduction in travel costs incurred as office staff can now work effectively from home.

Further savings are expected in the future as the VoIP service may allow the council to reduce the size of its offices, thanks to its new flexible working practices, which would mean less money is needed to spend on upkeep or refurbishment of the buildings and a cash boost from the sale could be invested back into the local area.

Alan Shields, technical architect at Cambridgeshire county council, told Computer Weekly that the installation of VoIP equipment had been instrumental in the rollout of flexible working for staff.

"We could not achieve flexible working using dedicated numbers with dedicated phones, which is why the number portability function of VoIP – where their numbers follow staff regardless of which workstation they log into – appealed," he said.

While the average consumer may not have the organisational problems of a county council that could be eased by using VoIP, the benefit of cheaper calls could still be enjoyed by smaller scale users.

Vonage is leading the way in using VoIP technology to provide low cost telephone services, with unlimited calls to the UK & Ireland on the Vonage V-Plan 1 priced at only £5.99 per month.