As mobile technology began to take hold in the early 2000s, businesses were able to better connect with their customers and co-workers were able to communicate and collaborate more effectively with one another. Now that voice-over-IP has grown from a niche technology to an enterprise mainstay, companies have started experiencing an even greater reach, enabling them to easily connect with remote employees and clients in different states as well as enter new markets more quickly and effectively.

Small businesses especially can benefit from the connectivity offered by VoIP services, as the technology can enable such companies to operate at the level of a much larger enterprise without having to invest the same amount of time and money. Communicating with clients or employees located outside of an enterprise's immediate area used to be expensive and inconvenient, but that is made much simpler through the use of VoIP.

Instead of having to travel to a variety of far-flung places for meetings or paying for expensive long-distance phone calls, businesses can employ VoIP services and speak with remote parties easily and inexpensively. Added features like video conferencing allow teams in separate locations to feel like they're in the same room.

"The global mobile unified communications and collaborations market is expected to grow more than $12 billion over the next five years."

Employing a VoIP solution also helps enterprises to enhance their bring-you-own-device policies. VoIP services enable each employee to access the same calling platform and allows them to be more easily connected to the home office no matter where they're calling from.VoIP enables companies to engage remote workers
The ability to conveniently connect with people in a variety of locations is especially advantageous as the trend of working from home becomes more popular. According to research by consulting firm Sociometric Solutions, the number of U.S. employees who telecommute regularly is expected to reach almost 5 million in the next two years. Companies that are able to provide their staff with the ability to work from home are actually putting themselves at an advantage, as telecommuting has been found to be beneficial to an enterprise. Three-quarters of businesses reported that the ability to work from home made their employees happier, and 48 percent of remote workers said they felt less stress when they were able to work outside the office.

A recent report released by Markets and Markets found that the global mobile unified communications and collaborations market is expected to grow more than $12 billion over the next five years. A major segment of that market is VoIP, and the efficient, real-time communication and collaboration capabilities it provides are a driving factor in the market's growth.

As enterprises, and especially small businesses, begin to realize the connectivity benefits of a VoIP solution, a growing number of organizations will be looking toward the technology to improve the reach of their business and connection with customers and employees. Smaller companies in particular can gain an advantage from the multiple features available within a VoIP platform, as each function is able to increase their reach in a different and effective way.