There are tens of thousands of small and medium sized businesses that could benefit from using a PBX. Many decide against the idea simply because they cannot justify the cost in equipment needed to employ one. What many business owners do not realize however is how far hosted PBX solutions have come in the last few years.

What is a Hosted PBX?

A hosted PBX system delivers PBX functionality as a service to the end user by an established telecom carrier. The PBX equipment is housed on the premises of the carrier rather than the customer location.

The hosted PBX relieves the business owner of the cost of purchasing and installing PBX equipment. The carrier can (in some configurations) use the same switching equipment to service multiple PBX hosting accounts. Users typically contract PBX services through a lease agreement with the carrier.

The first hosted PBX service was very feature-rich compared to most premise-based systems of the time. Some features such as follow-me calling were available from hosted services before they became available in hardware PBX equipment.

Hosted PBX systems can handle far more capacity than customer premise equipment – and it can change as the customer’s needs change as well.

Advantages of a Hosted PBX

The most obvious advantage could be the fact that a hosted PBX eliminates the need for companies to manage or pay for on-site hardware maintenance. No large capital outlay is required for hosted PBX services. Extensions can be added (or deleted) as the business grows. In short, hosted PBX customers pay only for what they need. This can be a huge economical advantage for a small, fast-growing company.

When phone traffic is high, on-site PBX systems can ring busy. A hosted PBX, however, generally has a lot more available lines and can handle a much higher number of simultaneous calls.

Today, it is possible to get hosted PBX service that includes far more features than were available from the first systems of this class.

The following are just a few of the features that make a hosted PBX solution attractive to a small or medium sized business:

1) It can allow for a single number to be presented for an entire company even if the company is geographically distributed. A company could even and have no central location at all. A hosted PBX can be set up so that home workers are connected using their domestic telephones and still take advantage of the same features as any PBX user.

2) A hosted PBX allows for multimodal access. Employees have the ability to access the network via a variety of telecommunications systems, including POTS, ISDN, cellular phones, and VOIP. This allows one extension to ring in multiple locations (either concurrently or sequentially).

3) It supports integration with custom toll plans (that allow intra company calls, even from private premises, to be dialed at a cheaper rate) and integrated billing and accounting (where calls made on a private line but on the company’s behalf are billed centrally to the company).

4) A hosted PBX can evenly distribute calls to a department among available employees through Automatic Call Distribution (ACD). A menu of options can be set up for directing the call. The possibilities are endless.

5) It can provide detailed call records and real-time system management. This ability is not only convenient but can help cut costs with the proper monitoring and management of calls and traffic.

Keep in mind that all features are not available with every hosted PBX service. It is up to the customer to determine the features they need and choose a carrier based on those specific needs.

Next time your company considers a telecom system upgrade or change, be sure you check into hosted PBX solutions.

Submitted by: TelCon Associates, Inc.