Prior to the introduction of Voice over IP, businesses had few choices and were generally paying too much for business phone service
. The only option was the local phone company.
Along came VoIP and suddenly businesses had another option. However, businesses soon learned this new VoIP technology was not quite as reliable as traditional phone service. That was 5-7 years ago when VoIP was in its infancy.
Hosted VoIP technology has matured to the point where the call quality and reliability is comparable to traditional phone service. The real benefit to the small businesses is the PBX Features that VoIP technology delivers.
Most Hosted Business VoIP Phone systems offer a feature rich package of PBX functions that include Auto-Attendants, Hunt Groups, Voice Mail, Call Transfer, etc (see a full list of VoIP PBX Features) without requiring you to purchase expensive telecommunications hardware.
Hosted VoIP makes it easy to incorporate a geographically distributed group of employees, even remote works that work out of a home office can be incorporated into your business phone system. With a Hosted VoIP Phone system the only hardware your business needs are the IP Phones and a VoIP router.
A Business VoIP Phone System allows businesses to only pay for the PBX services actually used. Upgrading a Hosted VoIP Phone system is a simple process from a technical perspective and generally does not require additional telecommunications hardware.
Creating a multi-location system is no different than adding a phone to your current office system. Hosted VoIP Phone systems simplify adding additional geographic locations, including home based employees. New office locations can be added in any location that has a high speed internet connection.