Hosted PBX | what you need to know to select the best Hosted PBX service for you.

April 17, 2015 By Craig Lawrence Cloud PBXHosted PBXVirtual PBX No Comment

What is a Hosted PBX?

A Hosted PBX is a type of Cloud or Hosted Communications Service that replaces the need to own and maintain an onsite PBX system. The functionality previously provided by the on-premises PBX is moved to a data centre and calls are routed to handsets, hunt groups and mobile devices according to the predefined call flow rules of the customer. As calls between IP phone handsets and between IP Phones on the same network are connected free of charge a Hosted PBX can significantly reduce interoffice call costs and reduce long distance call charges.

Advantages of a Hosted PBX

The main advantages of Hosted PBX systems are their flexibility, lower upfront capital cost, expanded feature set and ease of management.

More and more enterprises are looking for flexibility, speed and efficiency in the way that they do business and interact with customers. Business units can be established for short term or trial projects and dismantled once they’re no longer required. This flexibility means that business can rapidly change to adapt to a changing business environment. To make a functionality change to a Hosted PBX system simply requires that the user log into an administration portal and update their call flow. In comparison a traditional PBX system change would typically require a visit from a telephone technician to make programming changes. A Hosted PBX means that these delays and additional costs are avoided.

Hosted PBX systems are significantly cheaper to install as the up-front costs are typically limited to small incremental costs such as IP Phone hardware or softphone license fees. In comparison to and onsite PBX the upfront capital expenditure is minimal.

Hosted PBX systems scale incrementally just by adding a new handset as and when needed whereas traditional systems are upgraded with license packs and module cards with set blocks of capacity. Expanding a Hosted PBX system takes minutes, not days, and relocation of offices is as simple as connecting a new Internet connection. Emergency relocations in disaster recovery scenarios can easily be accommodated with mVoice Business Mobility via a range of online tools including call forward of calls to mobile handsets or other offices or even the compete replication of an existing Hosted PBX set-up at a temporary office.

A Hosted PBX includes a large number of advanced functions once only affordable by large corporations at an all inclusive price. As a result small enterprises can now appear to be more substantial in size.

Improvements in functionality and features can also improve the way business is done by streamlining processes that facilitate greater responsiveness to customers.

Management of and upgrades to your Hosted PBX system taken care of remotely, there’s no need to be concerned about firmware changes to phones or device security patches and other maintenance issues.

Outsourcing your phone system leaves you more time to focus on what you’re good at – your own business.