Corporate world warms up to VoIP

Describing Internet telephony as the future of business communications in the Arab world, Roger Karam, CEO of Efonica, pointed out that the Middle East was yet to catch up with the rest of the world in implementing Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology for their communications requirements. He attributed the slow growth to scepticism and lack of awareness about VoIP's advantages.

'Once companies understand how this channel can be an important communications tool, they can boost their operational performance significantly,' Karam said. 'Our presence at GULFCOMMS this year was to explain the benefits of VoIP to the business community in greater detail. For example, in Jordan, companies are now discovering VoIP's advantages following Efonica's recent launch there.'

At GULFCOMMS, Efonica reported a high corporate interest in its suite of services and solutions, especially this year's patent-pending Internet Area Code™. Karam pointed out that GCC businesses represented 30 per cent of the visitors to Efonica's stand, located in Zabeel Hall of the Dubai International Exhibition Centre.

As businesses worldwide constantly explore new technologies to keep costs down, VoIP has emerged as the hot favourite, Karam added. 'Many companies, small and medium businesses, see VoIP as an important investment, especially when it comes to attractive features such as communications on the go, video-conferencing with multiple offices, and tremendous costs savings,' he said.

The strong corporate appetite in the Middle East presents a great opportunity for VoIP majors such as Efonica to take advantage of the regional telecom boom and tailor a comprehensive package for businesses based on their exact requirements.

'VoIP can mean much more than just costs savings to SMBs. The versatility of this mode allows businesses to tailor a telecom package, regardless of geography, specifically to meet its needs without spending heavily on equipment, installation, maintenance or on IT staff,'

Karam added.

Visitors to Efonica's booth ranged from businesses in the Middle East to individual users keen to know and experience the full advantages of features and services such as the Internet Area Code™ and free member-to-member calling. This service allows subscribers to dial the prefix '10' and then dial their contact as they normally would, rather than clicking on user names, as is common with other free VoIP services.

During the short sign-up process, subscribers have the option of having an Internet phone number similar to their landline or mobile numbers. Efonica's booth features live workstations where visitors can register their Internet phone numbers online and get instant access to Efonica's free services.

Daily live product demonstrations allow visitors to sample Efonica's premium services and experience the technology behind the brand's global success.

Efonica is located in Stand Z-L20 of GULFCOMMS 2006, in the Zabeel Hall of the Dubai International Exhibition Centre. The show runs from November 18 to 23, 2006.