The Pros and Cons of Hosted Phone Systems

When it comes to business phone systems, you probably remember the days of having to invest a fair portion of financial resources upfront for the costs associated with a private branch exchange (PBX).  Well, thankfully, you can put those days behind you now that virtual phone systems (or virtual PBX), also known as a cloud based hosted PBX solution, are available. Hosted PBX allows your business to reap the benefits and features offered by a traditional phone service but without all of the baggage; such as having to purchase handsets, and other associated hardware, with an upfront capital expenditure.

Whereas traditional PBX requires copper lines, also known as telephone lines, to transmit calls, hosted PBX uses Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as the Internet, to transmit calls. This allows for greater savings, improved efficiency and around-the-clock technical support.

The Benefits of Hosted PBX

Cost Efficiency:

As mentioned earlier, businesses, especially small ones, will find that switching to a hosted PBX system can come with a significant amount of savings. To start, you will not have to purchase any actual equipment as you would with a traditional PBX system. Additionally, and as a result, there are no on-site installation costs that come with the territory of a traditional PBX system. You will also find that budgeting is easier and cheaper with the fixed monthly cost that is offered by hosted PBX. There are also no maintenance or administration fees, as well as zero cost for adding employees to your system. Furthermore, there will no longer be a need to pay for a pricey office space to give the illusion of a more professional or established image to clients. Smaller organizations or home offices are able to utilize hosted PBX systems from remote or smaller locations.

Flexibility

As you might be aware, more businesses are allowing employees to work from home, as well as adding project offices in remote locations. This would certainly not be possible, or done so easily and at a reasonable cost, without a phone system such as hosted PBX. This system is also extremely useful if your business has sales reps in-field or driving to various locations as it can be tailored to their whereabouts by forwarding business calls to their cell phone. Additionally, you get to save on costs that typically come with moving your business to a new location. On the contrary, you will have the freedom to decrease or increase your service and / or features as you need, without the cost or wasting equipment that has already been paid for.

Variety of Features

With traditional phone systems, providers often charge for special or additional features. With hosted PBX,  on the other hand, you are able to customize and add features to your system without the price tag. Some of the useful features that you will be able to take advantage of, at no extra cost, include auto attendant, fax capabilities and voicemail. You also have the option of adding on caller identification, call transferring, call queuing and conference calling with the ability to conduct phone meetings with multiple participants.

Tech Support

If all of this sounds too high-tech, and you fear getting stuck with technical issues on your own, or having to dish out the dough for assistance, think again. One of the many benefits of incorporating a hosted PBX system into your business is that you will be granted with 24/7 technical support. Maintenance and assistance-related support is available for all users / employees, as well as complete control and system monitoring. What is more is that you need not worry about your connectivity being affected by power outages since your service provider has backup power sources in place. Hosted PBX service providers also offer software and hardware upgrades without you having to ask and at no additional cost.

The Downside to Hosted PBX

Interruption of Service

As a result of signal interference, you can experience a reduction in call quality. You may also notice a time lag when calls are forwarded to a cell phone. Since phone systems that utilize VoIP require an Internet connection your service may be interrupted if there are outages.

Fixed Term Contracts

Many times, service providers may ask that you agree to an initial fixed term contract. Although it is possible that the vendor may waive this commitment, you will likely see an increase in your monthly costs, as a result. In most cases, you will save money month-to-month with the lower prices and fixed costs associated with signing a service contract. However, the overall cost can add up over time as you will never be able to completely own the hosted PBX system.

Unexpected Costs

While you won’t incur any additional usages fees from long-distancing calling using a VoIP system (they are charged at the same rate as local calls) you can, however, wind up with unexpected, individual charges with a hosted PBX system. Unless you carefully take into account additional usages fees when putting together your monthly budget, you can experience a surprisingly higher bill than initially anticipated.

As with most things, there are a fair number of pros and cons that hosted PBX systems offer. The most important step that you can take is to familiarize yourself with both sides of the coin to ensure that you are making the best decision for your business and its needs.