In a battle between hosted PBX and traditional, on-premise PBX, which business phone system would come out victorious? Finding the value that suits your business the best should include consideration of these factors before coming to that conclusion.
Cost – Hosted VoIP allows you to pay a flat subscription rate that is all-encompassing. It covers equipment, IT support and any maintenance you may need for your business phone system’s upkeep. You will never run into any surprises when it comes to pricing. With an on-premise PBX, business owners won’t have to deal with recurring payments, but they do need to take into account a higher set-up cost, hardware expenses and ongoing maintenance and operational fees.
Mobility – With hosted PBX, you can access your business phone system and enjoy all the features it has to offer from any phone, anywhere, as long as you are connected to the Internet. This is an invaluable asset for smaller businesses where telecommuting is the norm. A hardware-based PBX, on the other hand, can be limiting since employees must use phones that are wired directly to the PBX inside an office environment.
Maintenance – If you don’t want to worry about having to hire an in-house IT team with the right skills, hosted PBX is the option for you. Support is available 24/7, eliminating the risk or responsibility of keeping your phone system up and running. An on-site VoIP system might be a better solution for larger enterprises since they have the IT capacity to support the installation and maintenance.
There are benefits and drawbacks with each approach, but ultimately, it comes down to your corporate priorities and your own personal preference. Hosted VoIP is an ideal choice for small and mid-sized business owners seeking cost-efficiency, mobility and round-the-clock support.
