Things That Should Turn You Off From Hosted Business Voip Services

Hosted PBX (private branch exchange) can be a great way to cut internal and external

communications costs and increase efficiency, but the company you go with will have a lot to do with determining how beneficial your switch to PBX really is. There are several pitfalls which should be avoided when making the move to hosted PBX.

Downtime. Some hosts operate along the same lines that airlines do - by 'overbooking' - in the case of PBX, they may subscribe more customers than the server will handle, counting on an average percentage using the service at any one time. If the number of active user exceeds that percentage, outages can occur. Look for a host that guarantees no downtime from overload (every system will fail occasionally, but there is no excuse for downtime due to oversubscription. You are paying for it - it needs to work.)

High costs. PBX is supposed to be the answer to high telecommunications costs. Your PBX host should allow varied billing options that allow you to pay only for what you use, instead of locking you into minimum charges each month. Look for a host that offers pay-as-you-go pricing.

Limited features. Again, there is no excuse for reduced features - a properly hosted PBX should have features that are inexpensive and inclusive, allowing you to make the most of the service. Look for a provider that provides unlimited access to features.

Your goal when choosing a hosted PBX is to find one that meets your budgetary requirements, offers all the features you need, and operates across a range of servers and connections to eliminate the possibility of your service going down because something went wrong on their end.

This means redundancy. At each possible point of service failure, there should be alternate routing options available to ensure that you never lose touch with either your customer base or your employees. Also, any service interruptions due to maintenance by the host should be communicated to users well ahead of time and conducted during off peak hours to minimize impact on business.

Investigate hosted PBX services carefully before making your final decision, and look into PBX that uses VoIP to integrate telephony and data communications - if you aren't using unified communications yet, you should be. Setting it up from the beginning is easier than trying to switch or upgrade later. A good business VoIP service can be a terrific benefit to your business; a poorly set up and administrated one can be a nightmare. Do your homework before you decide.

by: Andrew Wiggin

POST COMMENT

Business Owners: What To Do When You Can't Pay Your Business Coach Office Furniture - Prime Need Of Every Business Self Employed Loans Great Financial Help For Your Business CRM IN E-BUSINESS Immediate Cash Loans - Swift Fiscal Enable in Emergency Business in Chicago Payday Loans and Cash Advances Payday Loans Uk: Suitable Way To Resolve Unexpected Cash Expenses Unsecured Loans For People On Benefits - Cash Help For Minimum Requirements Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico – DFW, Texas Real Estate Open Source Cms Offering Cost Effective Way To Start E-business Business Letters: A Distinct Way Of Bringing Business The Time is Right for a Home-Based Business