Peterson's comments did not surprise Zeus Kerravala, an analyst at Yankee Group Research Inc. in Boston. "Peterson is absolutely correct," Kerravala said. "Business productivity is what you have to focus on. You get more bang for your buck by focusing on productivity than cost reduction."

Kerravala said there's a widespread impression that VOIP can save money, but the larger the organization -- and thus the larger the implementation -- the smaller the savings. "In a very large organization, in fact, going to VOIP could be more expensive," he said.