Hosted PBX Phone System

This type of phone service is a commonly used VoIP service by small and medium sized businesses that typically require under 100 phones and need features that only a hosted PBX solution can provide. One reason that it is typically companies of this size that use this service, is that it becomes more cost effective to have an on-premise phone system when the number of phones being used exceeds 50. This service is called a hosted service because the actual hardware equipment (the PBX) that manages the phone system is located off-site at the phone service providers NOC (Network Operations Center).

Hosted VoIP PBX

The overall functionality provided by a this type of service is very similar to the functionality of an on premise phone system. The management for phone adds, moves or changes will still be performed via a management GUI that is easily accessed via a web browser. Having no PBX equipment onsite means no installation and no maintenance as this is all done by the provider. This alone is a significant saving for a business as there is no initial upfront purchase cost for equipment and no administration costs as IT personnel are no longer required.

Benefits of a Hosted Phone System

Some of the advantages of moving your PBX functionality over to a hosted phone system are listed as follows:

• This type of phone service can easily scale as your businesses hires new employees and expands operations
• The features and functionality can be easily configured to change features or add user accounts by use of a basic web browser that accesses a configuration portal.
• The actual PBX equipment is in most cases, very high end equipment from companies such as Avaya and Cisco and as such is very reliable.
• Productivity improvements are almost guaranteed as users have access to a wide array of advanced features that are included as part of the price. Auto-attendants, hunt groups, outlook integration, internet fax and even video calling are examples of some of these advanced features that are often available.

Disadvantages of a Hosted Phone System

What about the disadvantages?

• A typical complaint with this type of solution is the voice quality also know as the voice quality of service. In almost every case, the root cause of this issue is actually related to the internet bandwidth available from a business or home to the Central Office. If the voice service is setup correctly and available bandwidth is properly evaluated, this should never be an issue.
• If your internet goes down then the hosted phone system is down. Not much can be done about this one and most businesses that have mission critical voice systems typically have redundant connections to the internet. So if one line goes down, the other one kicks in. In more typically applications both are always active and the traffic is being balanced across the two links to the internet. In most cases, if your internet goes down, getting it back up is the number one priority and the voice service can be pre-configured with back-up routes to try if main route goes down. An example of this is sending 1-800 calls to head-quarters to a remote office while the network is down.
• If power goes out, the phones go out. Yes that is true but most mission critical applications are protected by backup power systems.

Get FREE Hosted PBX Providers quotes to compare and save

Would you like to get FREE, no obligation, competitive price quotes for comparison purposes? Simply complete the simple form above and you will be matched to industry leading hosted PBX providers that evaluate your requirements, customize the quote and give you the best price possible. This saves you both time and money. Providers contact you directly saving you time, and they compete with each other to provide you their most competitive price, saving you money!

WhichVoIP is a Trusted Source of Information for Hosted PBX

Online since 2005, WhichVoIP has successfully established and maintained relationships with the leading hosted PBX providers in the industry. These relationships enable us to match users looking for this type of service to companies providing the service. This provides a unique opportunity for the user to get extremely competitive and customized quotes for comparison from leading providers with just one simple form. Switching to a hosted solution for your phone service will likely save most businesses a significant amount of money, with phone bill reductions of up to 80%.

 

Author: Mike Bragg

Hosted PBX Providers Compared

1. Get FREE pricing quotes from reputable providers, 1 simple form.
2. Compare popular hosted PBX providers using the table below.

Connect with Providers Directly

If you are not quite at the stage where you need customized price quotes, it is worthwhile taking some time to visit each providers website and see if it makes your shortlist. You can easily do this by clicking on the "more details" buttons in the table below. Here are a few reasons this approach is worthwhile:

• Some providers price in tiers depending on how many lines you need. Confirm the pricing for the number of seats that you need
• Evaluate the provider's website. If it is easy to find what you need and navigate then there is good chance the admin portal that you will use with your phones will also be easy to use.
• Check out international calling rates if you plan on racking up those international minutes.
• There is really no such thing as "unlimited calling" and providers outline "reasonable" usage rates in their terms and conditions. Make sure you know what these are for the hosted pbx service you are considering.