Pure VoIP Too Complicated for the Mass Market

Forrester study says user-friendly improvements are needed

VIENNA, Austria--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With VoIP being a fast developing mode of Internet telephony, the competitive edge sees vendors vying for a top place in the market. However in a recent study, "The VoIP Customer Experience: Work in Progress", April 3, 2007, by Forrester analyst Zayera Khan, the main software service VoIP vendors Skype, Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft and ICQ haven't yet developed a user-friendly, easy-to-use service for mainstream consumers.

“Users of Jajah initiate calls on the jajah.com website. The service connects their phone to any other phone on the globe for free or at very low Internet rates.”

"Consumers choose voice over IP because it offers select zero or low-cost alternatives to expensive phone calls that telcos cannot beat," says Khan. The current Web-based VoIP offers are attracting tech-savvy consumers, but mainstream consumers are still struggling with complicated and confusing menus and control functions, which need to be radically improved before navigation becomes more user-friendly. Here telecom and cable operators have an edge in the market segment.

More than half of European Internet users have heard of VoIP but only 8 per cent have actually tried it. Those comfortable using the service are highly educated males hungry for the latest technology, who began using Skype and Windows Live Messenger for free PC-2-PC phone calls. Of this small group, however, only 4 per cent continued to use VoIP for some or all of their private calls, while 3 per cent gave up.

Current telcos and cabelcos are competing head to head with Google Talk, ICQ, Skype, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger. Fixed-network operators such as British Telecom and Orange are now offering triple play services — VoIP bundled with digital TV and broadband - and the VoIP market is becoming more and more congested.

Next to the five top players in the VoIP market are contesters like Gizmo Project, Hullo, Jajah, and SightSpeed, also device manufacturers like Creative Labs, and a number of telecom and cable incumbents like Deutsche Telekom, Mobilkom Austria, Telefónica, and TeliaSonera.

Jajah founder Roman Scharf believes the Forrester report highlights why the traditional PC-2-PC VoIP companies are struggling to attract and keep customers.

"The complexity and hassle of VoIP software solutions have inspired us at Jajah to develop an approach to VoIP that is designed for everyone, not just techies," said Roman Scharf, co-founder of JAJAH Inc. "Users of Jajah initiate calls on the jajah.com website. The service connects their phone to any other phone on the globe for free or at very low Internet rates." http://www.jajah.com

"Bringing the benefits of voip to the mass market requires a simple solution that even your grandparents can use. If you can use Google, you can use Jajah-it is all about simplicity. No downloads, no installations no headsets, just use your phone and save money. We think that's why Jajah has attracted more than two million members already," adds Scharf.

Brand and social affinity also play a role. Tech-savvy consumers care about brand and rely on previous experience with a particular brand. For vendors to increase brand affinity they need to be aware of the consumers' online experience across channels and products.

The main flaws that need to be addressed by vendors regarding consumer needs are value, navigation, presentation and trust/security. The navigation system presents a problem because the menu categories are inappropriately described, confusing consumers with unclear terms; Skype, for example, uses "contacts, tools, calls," but clicking on them is required to find out the hidden functionality.

There are no key-word based searches. A tool bar exists, but the tested VoIP applications show very poor integration of a powerful search engine, which makes it harder to cut through the tech jargon.

Icons, graphics, buttons, rollovers and navigation menus are not clearly symbolized, which leads to confusion when trying to discern whether a phone symbol represents voice or video calling, for example. Mainstream consumers worry about privacy and security policies because they are not displayed on all relevant pages.

Currently Yahoo! has the best record for usability. Improvements need to be made with installation and set-up as well as with the search functions. Furthermore, offline-messaging, functionality and connectivity test need to be integrated. Such test are currently only offered by Skype.