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2006-10-08 - Local market is ready to Skype
South Africans are not far behind their overseas counterparts as far as the adoption and use of IP telephony is concerned. It will not be long before the term 'Skype me' is used extensively, and understood widely due to the ease-of-use, cost and functionality of Skype.Skype , the Internet telephony service provider, has emerged at the forefront of products that leverage off VoIP.
Currently the market is being targeted with an array of product that make use of VoIP, such as Microsoft’s NetMeeting, a collaboration tool with voice and video chat, white boards and application sharing.
But the product that will undoubtedly add the most value to the SME and home user market is Skype.
Part of the reason for this is the fact that it is freely available off the Internet and requires very little additional infrastructure, save perhaps a microphone onto the PC and, depending on your area and available bandwidth, a camera for video conferencing.
It is exceptionally simple to use and the hardware required negligible. It allows one seamless transition from Voice to actual text, which is advantageous in the event of a breakdown in voice quality.
Skype is already taking off in a big way, and represents no additional cost to the user.
For instance, let us take an example of a small office with three people with connectivity with an associate or branch office elsewhere in the country, all of whom run ADSL.
These offices can now use their PCs for communication using Skype, without having to invest in VoIP routers and phones. One can already purchase time on Skype to dial out and leverage off connectivity at a hotspot.
The technology adds portability and mobility to IP. In essence this is what Skype is – VoIP in a simplified, packaged formation. It is the most popular form of VoIP technology available for the SME or small user segment of the market.
To add to its appeal Skype has also brought out a free software package that is self-explanatory and user-friendly, with features associated with exorbitantly expensive applications.
The search facility to find names is effective and the company has also introduced a Skype phone, which is wireless and can be integrated easily into an environment. The phone will ring, relayed via the access point, and the call can be received in much the same way as one would an ordinary cell phone call.
In this sector of the market, Skype has the biggest and fastest growing share. It is unlikely that a competitive product will catch up to it in the near future.
The company has seen the value in freeware and added its profit to the add-on benefits, such as the 'dial-out’ capability. This has ensured that its position as the de facto standard, according to which all future and similar products will be measured.
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