Il futuro del VoIP, intervista ad Andy Abramson

Smith on VoIP intervista Andy Abramson, CEO di Comunicano, una società di consulenza specializzata in marketing che offre i propri servizi alle principali startup del settore VoIP (TalkPlus, Voxbone, Fonolo, Truphone, SightSpeed, Nokia, per citarne alcune).

Andy Mobile VoIP - a sector you are very close to - really took off in 2008. What sector(s) do you think will take off or see tremendous growth in 2009?

Mobile VoIP will keep growing, especially with WiMax. One key feature we’ll see more of is Location Based Services being integrated with Mobile VoIP and more IVR and speech driven integration. WiFi VoIP in the enterprise will be hot. Keep an eye on Agito Networks here. No need for FemtoCells when you can have FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence) for the enterprise done right.

It sounds like to you, 2009 is all about innovation. Who then are the VoIP companies to watch over the next six to twelve months? Who will have the hottest products and or will be releasing the most innovative or game changing services?

Companies like Truphone will keep innovating, but the real hot stuff will be coming from companies just getting birthed for 2009. As open platforms and as more API’s become available to use, the 3.0 world will be very mobile. I also expect that a lot of new things will start to appear on Google’s Android, the new Sony Ericsson Experia and many of the next generation Nokia handsets. RIM and Apple will continue to drive the innovation curve. Lastly I think softphones will emerge finally with better sound quality.

All of this sort of makes you wish you were a programmer. So what consumer and or business market segments or verticals are looking the most attractive for VoIP companies over the next six months to a year?

Mobile VOIP and WiMax based VoIP will be hot, so anyone in those sectors should see growth. Add in LBS/GPS related applications beyond simply directions and you’ll have a few players emerge. I think the enterprise space will also become more hot for VoIP. More hosted VoIP from the cBeyonds, Junction Networks, PhoneFusion and M5’s of the world will begin to cut into the sacred ground of the ILEC.