The forecasts for VoIP adoption — phone service delivered via the Internet — are relentlessly optimistic, and have been for years, ever since the kinks were worked out adequately enough to provide reliable, full-service operations to small and midsize businesses.
The latest breathless outlook comes by way of AMI Research, which predicts that 20 percent of small businesses and 60 percent of medium-sized businesses will be using VoIP by 2012. Households are also seen to be making the switch, with a forecast of 38 percent of broadband consumers converting by 2011.
Whether or not you swallow those numbers whole, there’s no denying it’s a technology sector on the rise. And Resource Nation, a business-to-business directory and marketplace based in Solana Beach, is riding the tide.
In August, it bought VoIPservice.com, which features introductory explanations in plain terms, and overviews of vendors, equipment and service plans, plus details on how best to transition.
“It provides an easy, apples-to-apples comparison of the available options,” said Ryan Peddycord, CEO of Resource Nation, who declined to disclose the buying price. “VoIP dealers can get in front of these purchasers and provide detailed information about their company.”
Visitors to VoIPservice.com can also benefit from forthcoming reviews that assist in making more educated and well-researched decisions.
“We found that VoIP is one of the more complicated services that business owners make, so we bought VoIPservice.com to be able to provide a stand-alone site that would cover both the business and residential aspects of the service.
“Even the contracts of VoIP are complicated, and one of the aims of the site is to educate,” Peddycord said, adding that the site is optimized for do-it-yourself buyers who prefer to do their own research on Voice over Internet Protocol and go from there.
Still, consumers who’d prefer to lean on Resource Nation as a hands-on VoIP liaison may do so at no extra cost.
“We’re an integrated vendor matching program,” Peddycord noted. “The buyer tells us what they’re looking for, and we match them up based on their criteria.”
Send technology news items to Richard Gincel at rgincel@sdbj.com.
