A slew of recent research reports show that Europe is no longer lagging behind the US in the rate of IP Telephony adoption – and indeed may well be overtaking the North American market in its deployment of VoIP for more sophisticated business reasons.

More than half of European businesses have IPT in place or planned within the next 36 months. Rates of adoption vary – in the UK, more than four out of five firms are buying into VoIP, while only half that number of Spanish firms are yet convinced, according to reports. Germany, Belgium and France are starting to move; Italy and the Netherlands have been eager adopters.

But behind these statistics is a clear and significant change in motivation. While cost-saving is still a major factor, a larger number of companies are now pursuing IPT to achieve broader strategic and operational goals, driven not by the convergence of the network per se, but by the application and access flexibility it can deliver.

Mobility is a major motivator. The fixed-mobile telephony revolution, where cellular and wireless networks combine to make landlines redundant, delivers a primary justification for VoIP and Voice-over-Wireless.

But mobility isn’t just about wireless roaming, it’s also about the ability to wrap voice tightly into applications, creating new integrated capabilities as well as extending processes outside the fixed network.

Unified messaging – bringing together email, voice mail, instant messaging, ‘find me/follow me’ and even text-to-speech – is where most firms see their budget being spent. Remote and teleworking solutions, videoconferencing and dual-mode mobile phones are also priorities. All of these are about enhanced mobility.

Microsoft and IBM have both signalled that ‘voice as an application’ is a major plank of their strategy.

The former is driving voice and real-time collaboration as key drivers for Microsoft Office 2007. With their focus on developing the messaging, conferencing and collaboration space, Microsoft are ensuring that VoIP is increasingly seen as a software, rather than a hardware domain.

IBM, meanwhile, has been working with 3Com to deliver the industry’s first solution to integrate IP telephony with email, messaging and core business process applications on a single, secure platform, announced on 27 March.

Recognising that open standards and access are fundamental to the future of converged applications, IBM chose to partner with 3Com in 2006.

As the pioneer of the SIP standard for VoIP, and with its Open Network Services (ONS) approach supporting the development of open-source applications, 3Com is perfectly aligned with that ambition. And with world class,  proven IPT technologies for both the enterprise (VCX) and SME sector (NBX) in its portfolio, 3Com was able to hit the ground running.