Find out what hosted telephony is and what the benefits are over traditional on-premise telephone systems.
There are many different options available to you when it comes to hosted telephone system. These systems can enhance efficiency and productivity substantially, and you shouldn’t struggle to find a suitable solution for your requirements no matter what your needs and budget are.
Hosted telephony which is also sometimes referred to as cloud telephony or hosted VoIP is where a provider hosts and manages your business phone system in a data centre. When you invest in hosted telephony, you can get a telephone system that covers all your voice communication needs at a highly-affordable price. This gives you a solution worthy of a leading global business without forcing you to make an astronomical investment.
With hosted telephony, communication is delivered via the internet. Hosted telephony gives small-to-medium businesses the chance to utilise technologies that were previously only available to the biggest brands and enables them to make sizeable savings. You will normally only need to pay per-user-per-month, which means you won’t have to fork out for more than you need. What’s more is that you can scale up or down in line with your business needs.
Hosted telephony solutions are simple and quick to install. The term VoIP refers to voice calls that are delivered through the internet. People have been able to communicate in this manner for many years, but the levels of efficiency and reliability have grown significantly over recent years.
Hosted telephony systems are now just as dependable as conventional PBX systems, and what’s also attractive for many businesses is that they don’t need to cover ongoing maintenance costs or multiple phone lines.
The company running the data centre are also responsible for maintaining security and disaster security, which again leaves you with less to worry about as long as you opt for a high-quality service provider with a great reputation. In the unlikely event something does fail, data will be sent to another area of the system so you don’t need to fret about downtime.
You can also look forward to taking advantage of a string of useful extra features when you opt for hosted telephony. These features mean staff can work at home just as efficiently as they would in the office, and can also perform their duties whilst they are mobile.
Depending on which provider you choose, you may not need to pay anything for internal calls. You can also assign a single telephone number to different devices, set up diverts, call groups, redirects and much more.
If you are currently running a traditional PBX on your premises and in your organisation, you could be missing out on vast efficiency and enhanced communication capabilities. Moving to a hosted solution can mean enjoying a plethora of benefits thanks to the massive range of features that cloud-based telephony offers.
With hosted telephony, the system is hosted in the cloud as opposed to on your business premises. You can gain access to the system by using a softphone or IP handset. Softphones are screen-based virtual phones that are used with headsets. When calls occur, they are made via a broadband connection and are then routed to PTSN fixed and mobile devices.
You can avoid expensive maintenance and upgrades of your PBX system when you make the leap up to hosted telephony alternatives. What’s more is that you don’t have to worry about maintaining hardware or software or implementing upgrades, as this is all done for you, leaving you to focus on what you do best. Opt for hosted telephony and you’ll be able to take advantage of various useful call management features. You will also be able to integrate not only mobiles but other devices too. It doesn’t stop there – you’ll also get low-cost and even completely free IP calling.
The level of control offered by hosted telephony is extraordinary, and is one of the reasons so many companies are opting for the solutions. Even when your operations are spread across numerous countries and sites, management is simple due to the straightforward interface provided to you. What’s also great news for those considering upgrading to hosted telephony is that you don’t need to cover any costs for hardware, software or maintenance upfront.
More and more companies are being staffed by employees working on the move. If you need to cater for remote and mobile workers, hosted telephony could be the ideal solution. There is growing evidence to suggest the cloud based telephony is rapidly becoming the long-term norm for companies from various sectors. In fact, a Gamma survey of more than 400 companies in the UK found that only 2% did not use cloud services in any form.
Hosted telephony is incredibly scalable and cost-effective. It is also quick and easy to roll-out, and the change to hosted should cause only minimal disruption for your business. The SME market have been particularly enthusiastic about making the move to hosted – companies of this nature are traditionally more open to introducing new technologies.
Though you may have concerns about covering the cost of hosted or the fact that you have already invested in PBX hardware, by planning to switch carefully and working with a trusted partner, you can keep problems to a minimum. The long-term savings and benefits attached to hosted telephony are encouraging more and more companies to make the switch.