Taxes Go Up, Oil Imports Go Down and VoIP Sales Show Negative GrowthTaxes Go Up, Oil Imports Go Down and VoIP Sales Show Negative Growth

The compelling sales cases for IPT, UC, video conferencing and anything in our industry that reduces travel, time and energy must become a resonating theme.

What does it all mean? These are interesting events seeing the highest and fastest rise in tax rates by local, state and federal governments. On the other end there are so many incentives to spend money on energy-saving appliances or making your own energy. US oil imports continue to slide and China denies they are now the largest oil consumer on the planet. Melanie Turek reported: "The world enterprise telephony systems market is estimated to have shipped 37.3 million lines in 2009--a growth rate of negative 20.4 percent year over year from 2008." Negative growth? Decline, contraction, and decrease, but to bean counters--it still means negative growth.

Dismal but unsurprising news that government is incapable of regulating itself. The rise in tax rates won't help consumers and unemployed seeking relief. Enterprise hasn’t ignored energy savings and oil, and the cost of it--but getting off of it will take years as predicted by the experts "to be as a painful withdrawal." Rightsizing is popular and this includes the beginning of ending the practice of buying worst case what you think you need in IPT capacity. New software pricing including challenging hosting models may be welcome too.

The US total electric consumption in 2008 declined from 2007 about .011% by 44.494 billion Kilowatt Hours. Data beyond 2008 is not posted. This decrease in US electric consumption represents $4.2B direct savings or decrease in electric spending. This decrease in usage representing the entire country (residential, commercial, industrial) speaks volumes to the potential of energy savings and reduction in GHGs. But it's also a metric that should soften the stance that being efficient is a waste of time, and that energy sources are unlimited and demand trends can’t be reversed.

In the past, oil imports revealed whether or not our economy was growing and it is clear that our oil imports are decreasing. The past 20 years has shown a growth trend in both imports and consumption. The future now appears to be on a downward trend. Of course there are shifts that move oil consumption, pollution and other ailments onto China since our goods are produced there. China’s labor force won't work cheap forever and I do believe that US enterprises are in a position to get ahead in the energy game. If we do advance in energy efficiency, conservation and doing more for less, I believe that the bean counters will prove right when they use terms like negative growth.

A strategic competitive advantage is hanging over us and staring us squarely in the face to reduce energy consumption in both fuel and electric usage. Some US companies already are backing out of China although they aren’t leaving in droves. The compelling sales cases for IPT, UC, video conferencing and anything in our industry that reduces travel, time and energy must become a resonating theme. Green is overused and for those in this industry just like the frog selling hybrid Fords--we must communicate to the customers that reducing energy isn’t just cool but a new way of life and method of doing business. Call it negative growth but operating lean and mean once was an American way of life in business.