Switched on firms are saving themselves thousands of pounds a year by using the latest technology to cut the cost of everything from utility bills to telephone calls.

And as well as saving money, many of the recent new technologies developed for the business community can also help reduce energy consumption according to Jim Venables, Managing Director of leading online office broker, officebroker.com which works with 97% of the UK’s serviced office space providers and landlords.

Some of the recent technologies now being employed by the business community include:

The number of U.S. businesses using an Internet telephony line will surpass 5 million by the end of the decade and hit 7.8 million by the end of 2012, according to new projections from Pike & Fischer's Broadband Advisory Services

In addition, providers of VoIP services will see revenues from business customers triple over the next five years to hit more than $6 billion, P&F says in the new report, VoIP in the Business World: Market Forecast and Analysis.

Businesses are increasingly attracted to VoIP services because of the operational efficiencies and cost savings. The biggest part of the market will be large enterprises, which tend to have in-house information technology experts to manage telecommunications upgrades, the Silver Spring-based market research firm says. Incumbent telephone companies such as AT&T and Verizon are likely to retain the biggest share of these customers, the report says.

CuPhone announces its “Echo Free” USB-to-Phone Adaptor. This small adaptor, when plugged into the USB port of a PC, allows the user to plug his regular phone into the RJ11 port on the adaptor to make and receive either Skype or normal landline “echo free” calls

The “Echo Free” Phone adaptor is based on TigerJet Network's most advanced single chip VoIP solution, the Tiger580, which has built-in Echo Cancellation hardware, SLIC/Phone interface and a 16-bit audio codec. With built-in echo cancellation hardware, the audio quality is significantly improved over the software echo cancellation alternative since, with software echo cancellation, audio quality is dependent on many factors, including PC performance and network delay.

Virtually everybody that uses Skype also makes and receives normal telephone calls. CuPhone’s adaptor enables all types of calls to be handled using one piece of equipment and this piece of equipment can be, for example, the cordless phone that was the user's preferred phone before VoIP even existed. Also with the CuPhone adaptor, family members on different phone extensions can be on landline and Skype calls simultaneously, effectively providing a second phone line at no cost.

As has been the underlying characteristic of VoIP industry over the last 7 years, the growth pattern refuses to change direction. The 9th annual VoIP industry update published by iLocus reveals a yearly increase of 67% in VoIP access server licenses shipped worldwide, and a 35% increase in VoIP traffic.

There is no evidence yet of a long term slowdown in carrier spending. It seems that despite the risk of recession (especially in the US) carriers have no choice. They have to build out the IP infrastructure if they are to remain relevant.

The new investment cycle that started in 2004 to do with access part of carrier networks continues into 2008 and is likely to remain so through to 2009. That can be said with confidence in case of European countries at least. On a global level, even if the investment slows down due to financial issues, the carriers have to spend nonetheless. They have little choice, it seems. Due to the losses in landlines, wireline operators are expanding into mobile and mobile operators on the other hand are looking to leverage fixed broadband networks for voice offload or over-the-top services. The underlying technology that lets them both achieve those objectives tends to be VoIP.

ANDTEK presents the "AND Phone Recorder", a software allowing users to record VoIP phone conversations, at the "Cisco Networkers 2008", which takes place in Orlando/Florida from June 22 - 26. Encrypted and protected from manipulation by a signature feature, the recorded conversations can be verified as originals and can be used as evidence in court, for instance when threatening calls have been made.

The solution is especially well equipped for complex and global corporate networks. Since the recorded conversations are not only duplicated to the standard switches, but directly sent to the recorder server from any IP telephone. As a result, the configuration work that has to be performed by the administrator is significantly reduced.

This is especially beneficial for large corporations operating global sites. Thanks to this innovative recording method, they can now implement voice recording functions into complex corporate networks in a location-independent manner. Any IP phone conversation can now be recorded by a simple touch of a button.

Net2Phone is lowering prices on VoiceLine residential broadband phone service. Now for a flat rate of just $19 a month, VoiceLine provides consumers with unlimited local and long distance calling within the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, plus caller ID, call waiting, voicemail and other popular calling features. Consumers who make international calls can add unlimited calling to more than 60 countries for an additional $15 a month with VoiceLine’s Unlimited World option. Major destinations included in this feature are: Argentina, Brazil, China, Japan, Ireland, Italy, Peru, Spain and the United Kingdom.

VoipReview.org has been acquired by an undisclosed buyer. Company founders and Denver entrepreneurs Eric Laughlin and Gary Gaessler successfully built and sold the company over a five-year period. Founded in late 2003, VoipReview.org features an interactive online search tool which helps shoppers find the best residential and business VoIP service providers based on price, features, local availability, and user ratings and reviews. Last year, the company announced it had helped 5 million visitors find, compare or purchase VoIP provider services -- a number that has swelled to more than 8 million.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of "Triple Play: Building the converged network for IP, VoIP and IPTV" to their offering. “Triple Play” is a combination of Internet access, voice communication, and entertainment services such as IP television and video on demand.

The erosion of the traditional voice service, together with the ever-increasing competition between companies, is pushing the telecommunications industry towards a major shift in its business models. Customers want more services in a more flexible way. Today, this shift can only be carried out by offering converged services built around the Internet Protocol (IP). Triple Play, a bundle of voice, video, and data services for residential customers, is the basis of this new strategy.