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Hosted PBX phone solutions are revolutionizing how small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) serve
their customers, grow their business, and support their employees. Delivering the same enterprise level,
professional phone system capabilities large businesses use at a much lower cost, hosted PBX is
helping SMBs save money while putting their customer services on par with much larger organizations.
While large enterprises have begun leveraging the cost advantages and robust capabilities of enterprise
IP (Internet Protocol) telephony, on-site IP PBX (Private Branch eXchange) systems can require
significant initial investment and ongoing operational costs that put them out of reach for SMBs. Until
now, smaller companies have been limited in choice to inflexible, expensive traditional phone systems
or residential-grade voice over IP (VoIP) solutions with limited functionality and flexibility, and less than
business-grade performance.
Now there’s a cost-effective, feature-rich alternative to on-premises IP PBXs and traditional analog
phone systems expressly designed for the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. Vocalocity PBX,
a hosted PBX solution, offers state-of-the-art features, seamless scalability, and unparalleled ease-of use
all in a low-risk, low total cost of ownership package.
This white paper provides insight into whether a hosted PBX solution from Vocalocity is right for your
company, the types of benefits you can experience with a Hosted PBX, and an overview of how easy it is
to deploy VocalocityPBX versus other phone systems.
Perception is reality when it comes to the customer experience. The phone system can
make or break a company’s efforts to provide a professional, efficient experience to its
customers. It can mean the difference between appearing to be a mom-and-pop shop or
a much larger, established enterprise with the resources to satisfy the customers’ needs.
That’s why choosing an office phone system should be based on much more than
cost alone. While cost is a major reason why SMBs are switching from traditional office
phone systems to hosted IP telephony, many SMBs are unaware of the equally important,
additional advantages of leveraging the latest technology for voice communications.
IP telephony – voice communications over an Internet connection – is becoming the
standard for business communications. VoIP enables a broader array of features than
traditional analog phone systems to improve productivity, enhance customer satisfaction,
and deliver exceptional business intelligence. Taken together, the lower cost and robust
features offered by VoIP is making a positive impact to the bottom line of SMBs.
Getting professional phone system features – such as those
used by Fortune 500 companies – at an affordable price is
now a reality for SMBs thanks to a new type of service from
Vocalocity: VocalocityPBX. In contrast to a premises-based
PBX phone system, Vocalocity PBX is a hosted PBX, meaning
that state-of-the-art equipment and technology is located,
owned, and managed off-premises by Vocalocity and leased
to the customer. This eliminates purchasing, installing,
and managing a full-featured IP or traditional PBX phone
system, which can cost upwards of $40,000 to implement.
Vocalocity PBX is based on VoIP and delivers a combination
of cost-effectiveness, scalability, and robust features
that make it ideal for SMBs. With a hosted PBX from
Vocalocity, companies can streamline communications,
improve customer responsiveness, and increase employee
productivity all while reducing overall telephony costs.
Whether an SMB has one employee or a hundred,
VocalocityPBX delivers the same major business advantages
of IP telephony that major enterprises depend upon at a
price affordable to much smaller businesses.
Improved Productivity and Optimized Customer Service
VocalocityPBX delivers a vast array of innovative
features and capabilities to enable companies to
improve employee productivity while delivering better
customer service. For instance, users can customize
auto attendants to intelligently route calls to the
proper extension, get their voicemail forwarded
to their e-mail, download call logs for reporting
purposes, and much more. Customers can be routed
to the correct person without being told to hang-up
and dial a different number.
Scalability
With VocalocityPBX, companies can start with a small
number of extensions and grow to any size, without
phone system constraints or hardware upgrades.
Adding or removing extensions is quick and simple,
needing only a few minutes time to accomplish. This
makes managing growth in a hosted environment
drastically easier than with an on-premises system.
Plus, there is no need to track line cards and trunk
cards, or maintain extra capacity.
Lower Total Cost of Ownership
The start-up costs for Vocalocity PBX are significantly
lower than purchasing a traditional or IP PBX. A hosted
PBX smoothes out cash flow requirements and frees
up cash in the first year for other needs. Vocalocity PBX
provides ongoing savings with unlimited local and long
distance calling or flat rate pricing.
Virtual Companies/Geographical Freedom
VocalocityPBX can route calls to any employee, but
unlike a hardware PBX system, employees don’t have
to be at an office phone to receive calls. Employees or
sub-contractors can telecommute, taking calls on cell
phones or home lines. The Follow-Me feature allows calls
to be easily forwarded to cell phones or other alternate
locations, enabling a completely virtual company and
reducing office overhead expenses.
Maintenance and Upgrades
With a hosted PBX from Vocalocity, there’s no hardware
or technology to maintain on premises: all day-to-day
operations and maintenance of the PBX is performed
by Vocalocity. Companies also gain access to the latest
technology automatically, with all upgrades handled by
Vocalocity.
VocalocityPBX offers 24x7 management and monitoring
at no extra charge to ensure the smooth operation of its
customers’ phone communications.
Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery
Business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities
are a key benefit of Vocalocity PBX. Unlike on premises
solutions, a hosted PBX solution from
Vocalocity ensures that phone service is available by
rerouting to alternate locations to provide business
continuity in the event of a disaster.
Making the decision to replace an office phone system shouldn’t be taken
lightly. Despite media hype, there are certain businesses for which a
hosted PBX system may not be the ideal solution. For instance, very large
enterprises offer the economy of scale and depth of internal IT resources to
make on-premises IP PBXs a viable solution.
While total cost of ownership is the main driver for most companies, many
of the benefits of a hosted PBX solution discussed in the previous section
come into the decision as important factors to consider for each company’s
specific requirements. For a low monthly rate, Vocalocity offers
the professional, enterprise-level features
and functionality SMBs need to be more
efficient and productive, improve customer
responsiveness, and enable flexible business
models and growth. Some of the features
offered, or offered soon, include:
BASIC FEATURES:
Local numbers
Toll free numbers
Virtual numbers
International virtual numbers
Unlimited calling
Local number portability
Web portal interface
Directory assistance (411)
Emergency service (911)
Fax
CALLING FEATURES:
Caller ID/on-call waiting
Call forwarding
Call hold
Call transfer
Call conference
Call waiting
Do not disturb
Call logs
VOICEMAIL FEATURES:
Password protected
Voicemail greeting options
Voicemail to e-mail
Check voicemail through
Web interface
Multiple mail folders
Group messaging
Visual waiting indicator
AUTO ATTENDANT FEATURES:
Day and night mode
Dial-by-name directory
Virtual departments
Multiple auto attendants
Import greetings
ADVANCED FEATURES:
Cell phone integration
Softphone support
Call groups
Follow me
Customize music on hold
Conference bridge
Intercom
Compared to an on-premises IP PBX or analog customer
premises equipment (CPE) system, a hosted PBX solution
requires significantly less planning and implementation
effort and a very low initial investment.
Equipment
Most businesses will already have the majority of what
is needed to use a Vocalocity hosted PBX service: a high speed
Internet connection such as DSL, cable/broadband,
or T1; and a router. The only additional equipment
required are compatible phones that support industry
standard SIP (a communications protocol especially
helpful for IP-based communications).
Set-up
Once you have the equipment, setting up your phone
system with Vocalocity PBX takes as little as 15 minutes.
A Vocalocity specialist will call you to walk you through
the set-up, ensuring that the appropriate settings and
features are implemented.
Transition
Vocalocity PBX can be implemented in an evolutionary
fashion – for instance, one department at a time. Because
the Vocalocity solution can co-exist with traditional phone
systems, it eliminates the need to cutover completely to
the new system before your company is ready.
Conclusion
Until now, small and medium-sized businesses have
been limited in choice to inflexible and expensive
traditional phone systems or premises-based IP PBX
with high start-up and ongoing operational costs. With
VocalocityPBX, SMBs now have an affordable solution
which offers advanced technology and features, business grade
quality, ease-of-use, and low maintenance.
Vocalocity has emerged as a leader in the VoIP
applications marketplace. Vocalocity gives small and
medium-sized businesses the power of a full-featured
traditional PBX with the cost-effectiveness and
flexibility of a VoIP hosted solution. Consistent growth
and the unique position of owning a proprietary
voice platform has the company primed for the
future. VocalocityPBX will continue to evolve as the
premier phone solution while IP technology becomes
the standard in business communications.
Article written by Vocalocity - a partner of WhichVoIP.com
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