When organizations plan to adopt a dedicated enterprise-level phone system, they tend to grapple between a hosted solution and on-premise architecture. Even though organizations have smartly replaced their traditional lines of telephony with a VoIP solution, doubts still prevail.
Hosted phone systems have been part of the corporate world for quite some time. Back when the trend started, the technology was merely limited to small-sized organizations, ones that incorporated 10 or fewer employees. Even then, the technology wasn’t in its best terms. For one, it was pricey and the quality suffered too.
Yet that’s one side of the coin and the face of a hosted phone system has drastically changed. It is noted that the pace of adoption has doubled between 2012 and 2016. And the figures would only rise in the future.
Having said that, it is pretty obvious that it is not just the SMBs but the large scale enterprises too are eyeing upon migrating to hosted VoIP solutions for their business. And there the question comes if hosted solutions are ideal as an enterprise-level phone system?
Table of Contents
What is a Hosted Phone System?
Hosted phone systems are solutions where the organizations need not buy hardware or dedicated software. They can virtually gain access to the entire system which is typically hosted on a cloud server and a third-party provider. Put simply, the hosted system gives website owners the ease to benefit and utilize the entire solution without actually paying for the hardware setup.
Features:
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Zero Maintenance
The first and the most talked about the benefit of a hosted system is that organizations no longer need to run or maintain the server. All of the backend tasks are executed by the service provider itself. As such these systems rely on internet connectivity and are vulnerable to glitches and network issues. Here again, it is the technical staff at the provider’s end who is responsible for fixing the same.
For organizations that lack the technical know-how to run such systems, maintain and operate them, hosted solutions are always a better fit than on-premise setup. Also, for the big enterprises, sparring time to work on VoIP issues is energy-draining and hence, hosted solutions work better for them too.
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Cost-effective
Hosted solutions tend to cost less for the company. Imagine an organization having hundreds and thousands of customers. Calling them and connecting with each would cost the company huge. On the other hand, hosted solutions are based on a monthly lease and no matter how many calls made, the fee remains the same. In addition to the above, hosted phones do not require any hardware installation, which further cuts down the cost to the company.
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Feature-Rich
Apart from the above two, hosted business phones come with plenty of features that are ideal for enterprise customers. Starting with voicemail to call queuing, video calling and instant messaging, the hosted solution encompasses all. With a hosted system, organizations can easily integrate other tools and CRM software to track customers’ information and have everything handy when making calls.
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Ability to Scale
When you opt for an on-premise solution, you need to have as many resources as needed to address all the customer’s requests. In case, the need arises in the future you would need to purchase additional space. With a hosted solution, enterprises can easily scale up and down their resources based on the needs and customer requirements. Also, the organization would only need to pay for the resources used. All in all, it facilitates effective communication at reduced costs and efforts.
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Geographically Available
One of the excellent perks of having a hosted system for your business phone is geographic flexibility. With a dedicated line on the desk, you would need to be in your office to make or answer calls. However, such is not the case with a hosted Phone system. These can be accessed from anywhere across the globe. All you need to do is remotely sign up in the software and get started. When you have customers that are overseas and there is a time difference, you need not stay at the office for long hours. Instead, you can simply place a call, at your convenience.
The Final Word
In a nutshell, it is clear that the business phone system must be such that they are both adaptable and easily available. While the on-premise solution does seem good for few, when scanned under a larger scale, it is the hosted phone solution that seems ideal for enterprise customers.
Equipped with a range of features and functionalities, the solution not only aids effective communication with the customers but also guarantees quality. As an onus, organizations save huge amounts of money when using a hosted solution as their business phone system. So, with lesser expenditure, better quality, and remote connectivity, a hosted solution is ideal for your enterprise customers.
