Point Topic estimates that over 11 million people were using a retail voice over IP (VoIP) service for at least some of their telephone calls at the end of March 2005. That�s an increase from just over 5 million at mid-2004 according to Point Topic research published in December 2004 and the Point Topic VoIP Application Source profiles in Broadband Money Makers. This number is based on a total of publicly available figures for VoIP subscribers, combined with estimates where subscriber numbers were not available. Many of these estimates are based on a conservative 10 percent growth from Q4 2004 to Q1 2005. The total does not include PC-based soft-client services like Skype and VoiceGlo. Of these 11 million, well over half, 7.2 million, are in Japan. Yahoo Softbank provides the majority of these services, and they come bundled with the broadband subscription. Users need to retain their standard line and pay line rental. This is a common feature with VoIP services, often driven by regulation surrounding emergency calls. So for many of the bundled VoIP subscribers (in numerical terms primarily in France and Japan), the VoIP service is essentially a second line that enables cheap or no-cost out-bound calls.
Across the globe, many CEOs invested in initiatives to expand their digital offerings. User experience enhancements that are enabled by business technology were a priority in many industries. Worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 21.7 percent to a total of $597.3 billion in 2023 -- that's up from $491 billion in 2022, according to the latest market study by Gartner. Cloud computing is driving the next phase of digital transformation, as organizations pursue disruption through technologies like generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), Web3, and enterprise Metaverse. Public Cloud Computing Market Development "Hyperscale cloud providers are driving the cloud agenda," said Sid Nag, vice president at Gartner . Organizations view cloud computing as a highly strategic platform for digital transformation initiatives, which requires providers to offer new capabilities as the competition for digital business escalates. "For example, generativ