30 March 2006
A company has introduced what it claims to be the first genuinely secure voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phone service for businesses.
Interoute's iSip service offers all the VoIP advantages such as free internet calls, free national fixed-line calls and reduced call charges to mobiles and international numbers.
Despite these savings, there have been fears over the security of VoIP services in the past.
"Skype and other peer-to-peer VoIP services present a serious risk to corporate security. The user is essentially in control and the IT department can do little or nothing to manage the traffic that runs across the corporate network," explained Peter Wood, chief of operations at First Base Technologies, a leading security consultancy.
"Skype is incompatible with traffic monitoring and intrusion detection system tools, leaving the service open to hacker attacks."
James Kinsella, Interoute's executive chairman, said: "The security and quality lapses associated with public access VoIP services are well documented, with the cost savings continually offset by poor service quality and threats to the corporate network.
"We are now offering free calls to businesses in an entirely secure and protected environment and it is clear that the potential cost savings are immense."
According to a recent report by the research firm Analysys, 32 million employees across western Europe will be using a VoIP system by the end of the decade.
It also suggested that 1.6 million corporate employees will have abandoned their fixed line phone in the office by 2010, just using a mobile handset instead.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
Content for the uSwitch.com market news service is provided by a third party, Adfero Ltd. Whilst uSwitch.com makes reasonable efforts to check the reliability of this content, uSwitch.com does not guarantee the accuracy thereof or endorse the views or opinions given by Adfero Ltd, unless expressly stated otherwise.