2010 Year in Review: IP Communications works for Everyone

The year 2010 is coming to an end and there are a lot of great things to look back on that took place in the world of IP Communications.

Most of the reports looking at the industry saw things in a pretty positive light. Most businesses are planning to upgrade to IP communications seeing the technology as mission critical. Wholesale VoIP customers in 2010 reported being pretty satisfied. And, while prices were down in the VoIP world, demand was strong. The UC market saw its largest growth in Q3 since 2008! As we look ahead, telecoms' CAPEX is looking up. And as companies upgrade to the next generation of communication, even consumers are getting the idea that unified communications is the way to go.

2010 was a great year for mobile VoIP moves, outsiders building alternatives, hosted unified communications (UC) offerings, consumer telepresence and interoperability. We've seen IP communications enter into the general populations' field of vision more and more as they realize the savings they can achieve with inexpensive computer based calls, growing video conferencing features and mobile apps that allow them to skirt minute limits and long distance fees. The idea of hosted VoIP and UC being simply a small business play is starting to erode as the economy and more advanced networks are making the cloud approach more appealing to every business from the SMBs to the enterprise. 

Outsiders like Internet call provider Skype and search engine company Google are starting to look like behemoths joining the ranks of more well established VoIP empires. And the established companies have even been hard at work launching compelling UC systems, devices and services while working hard to wrangle the ever expanding IP equipment market with interoperability pacts and organizations.

With 2010 being such a strong year for IP communications, I am sure we are all looking forward to what 2011 will bring. Today's issue is dedicated to some of our favorite trends of 2010. Enjoy! -Mike

P.S. This will be the last issue of FierceVoIP for 2010. See you back here on January 3rd! Have a happy new year!