In recent months disruption to transport, in particular air travel, has caused distress to many businesses fighting to maintain business continuity.

However, many small to medium sized businesses are now reaping the benefits of staying at home, preferring to meet with overseas clients via VoIP calls and IP-based video conferences rather than jumping on a plane.

As well as benefiting 2010’s strict budgets, this no-fly strategy is also more effective in terms of time efficiency and employee contentment.

A survey undertaken by Skype earlier this year investigated how SMEs manage their long-distance business opportunities. It revealed that one in four UK SMEs talk to customers and colleagues that are abroad every day.

50% of those surveyed felt that they had previously wasted time and money travelling to meetings that could have been undertaken via virtual means.

The most popular alternatives for business travel are instant messaging (40%) followed closely by VoIP (39%) and audio conferences at (34%). Interestingly, IP-based video conferences received 28% of the votes with many companies citing that this cost effective solution is practical and allows them to use equipment that they already have in their offices.

It seems for now that many SMEs have their feet firmly on the ground when it comes to cost-effectively chasing overseas prospects.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 16th, 2010 at 10:00 am and is filed under VoIP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.