subject: Should Your Small Business Utilize A Hosted Pbx? [print this page] Due to the fact that small businesses are often facing the challenge of needing high quality telephony equipment and services on a tight budget, many are choosing to go with a hosted PBX. If your business is not able to communicate effectively, it will not be able to survive in the modern world where good relations are dependent on good communication. Co-workers need to be able to communicate openly and rapidly in order to work together on important projects in a timely manner. And client relations are often dependent on the ability of your business to communicate quickly and effectively with them. PBX phone systems are a relatively new telephony technology that many businesses are adopting; could this be right for your small business as well?
Voice over IP, or VOIP, is coordinated with hosted PBX systems to make and receive calls over the Internet. The service is called hosted because the host provider manages all of the calls and additional services through their server which is also hosting the telephone needs of other businesses. Since these servers are working with dozens of small businesses, they are able to offer services to each of them that are usually only reserved for big businesses. In fact, this hosted telephone system can be put in small businesses that only require as few as three phone lines, so it is an option for nearly all companies.
The telephones, routers, modems, and other hardware needed to run a hosted PBX is provided by the host company and therefore does not have to be purchased by the small business client. The hosting extends beyond just the calls, since all of the equipment is also hosted through a rental agreement that is included in the monthly service charge. This removes the major upfront cost of purchasing a whole new set of business quality telephones and ensures that you will always have the latest telephone technology available to your company.
Since these hosted telephone services are traditionally used by small businesses without internal IT departments, the hosting companies provide their own engineers. This is not required, however, and you can save some money if you decide to install your phone system on your own.
Small business owners are always searching for smart ways to give their fledgling companies the advantages of big businesses without having pay top dollar. You can ensure that your business's ability to communicate successfully is not hampered by getting the services of a hosted PBX along with the latest telephone technology in your office.
