When you hear talk about “the cloud” or read where something is a “cloud” service, you might think this is a complicated, virtual model that is somehow used for software services, A/V streaming, data storage, or maybe even video conferencing. But, when something is “in the cloud” or is “cloud hosted,” it’s simply hosted on the Internet using Internet resources for running applications, storing data, and communications.
But cloud communications isn’t just for computer to computer; it also includes Internet-Hosted Voice over IP Private Branch Exchange telephone systems – aptly named Hosted VoIP PBX.
On premises PBX systems cost a lot of money, require pretty involved maintenance to deploy and support, and put you in the position of being largely responsible for their operations 24x7x365. But, virtually hosting your PBX in the cloud puts your PBX on redundant, highly-available systems with trained professionals running your PBX. Not only does this seriously reduce your liability and stress, but also greatly reduces capital expenditures for your business and allows you to, instead, class your PBX and telephone services as fully tax-deductible operating expenses.
Not only can your PBX in the cloud or moving your PBX to the cloud reduce stress and save you time and money, but the reasons to choose Hosted VoIP PBX are endless. We’ve come up with the top 10 reasons to convert your Trunk Lines-based on premises PBX to Hosted VoIP PBX.
1. Ideal for remote workers
Hosted VoIP PBX is perfect for remote and/or home workers, allowing them to make/receive calls on your main number or their assigned DID, anywhere at any time. That’s right – your telephones and telephone lines are no longer bound to your physical location/office. They are anywhere the Internet is!
Your employees can make calls from another city, state or even another country and still display your main number or their assigned DID number. As long as they are connected to the Internet – wired or wireless – they are able to make/receive calls just as if they were in your office. This is powerful for distributed and/or remote teams because one big issue with teams split across different locations is lack of telephony consistency. And, if your employees split their time in and out of the office, they can have a desk telephone at one location, but use a softphone on their computer, or an app on their smartphone, to make/receive calls, still displaying your main number or their assigned DID number.
2. Customized to fit your needs
Hosted VoIP PBX allows you to take control of your telephone system. You no longer rely on your telecom company to make every small change for how your phone system works, but you have full control and can easily customize your system whenever you want. And, yes, that could be through a call to your Hosted VoIP PBX provider, but that’s not needed if you are connected to the Internet. With your computer’s web browser or an app on your smartphone or tablet, you can customize your telephone experience or your entire company’s – with no additional fees for making any of the changes you make. And, this customizing is not just for changing your ringtone or voicemail greeting. Your employees can change settings in minutes, such as simultaneous or series ringing, call groups, etc.
So, if your company has a power outage, loses all its connectivity, or is taken down by a virus/malware attack, you go to a place with Internet connectivity for your computer or pick up your smartphone, and you’re able to make/receive calls as if nothing had happened. And, if you need to make any changes to your telephone system, all you do is login to your Hosted VoIP PBX’s management interface, and make and immediately apply any needed changes.
3. Portable
You’ll never have to miss a call with Hosted VoIP PBX. With your desk telephone, your computer’s softphone, and your smartphone app all able to make/receive calls to/from your main number or your assigned DID number, Hosted VoIP PBX is truly portable! The most popular Hosted VoIP PBX softphone offererd by Fuse.Cloud is a collaboration application that lets you call, message, and meet with anyone from any device. On your Apple, Windows, or Android computer or smartphone, this application, called UC-One, includes full HD video, voice, messaging, screen sharing, and conferencing in a single easy-to-use cloud application that integrates with your other business apps.
Imagine you are out to lunch and forget about a conference call you’re to be leading. You use your smartphone’s UC-One app to start the call, and you head back to the office. You stay on the call, but when you reach your desk, you dial *11 on your desk telephone and the call is immediately and quietly pulled straight to your desk telephone. Then, 10 minutes later, when you’ve finished your part of the call, you decide you would like to remain on the call, but free up your desk telephone and move the call to UC-One on your computer. You open UC-One on your computer and easily move the call to your computer. The best part – none of the call participants know you’ve changed from your smartphone to your desk telephone to your computer’s softphone!
4. SaaS integration
Internet-based software services provided by a Managed Service Provider (MSP) are referred to as Software as a Service (Saas) – examples are Microsoft 365, Google G Suite, Amazon Web Services, Salesforce.com, DocuSign, etc. And, many Hosted VoIP PBX’s can integrate with these SaaS services and other cloud based software services. SaaS integration using APIs allows better integration between all your platforms. Businesses are moving to the cloud, and being able to plug in communications through your Hosted VoIP PBX to your CRM, ERP, HR systems, opens up not only being able to have unified communications, but it also allows you to single source your telephone conversations, voicemail messages, and even text messaging for much more fluid and efficient workflow for your employees, customers, and vendors.
Hosted VoIP PBX is only a start for bonding your Infrastructure and SaaS services, but succeeding without starting with this, is tough.
5. Easier to relocate
Hosted VoIP PBX moves are rare, but when they do have to happen, they are far easier than moving an on premises PBX system. If you are changing offices, temporarily relocating staff, or if your entire company is moving, you’ll find your Hosted VoIP PBX might not even need to be changed!
However, if you are moving to use new DID’s or changing public IP addresses at your site(s), these are simple changes you can make using a web browser and they are very easy to make, test, and apply. Fuse.Cloud’s products provide very powerful web-based administrative portals, and they also have customer support staff who can provide assistance if you run into any issues making your changes.
So, if you are considering a company location move or are starting a new business, a Hosted VoIP PBX can definitely save you money, get turned up very quickly, and make things much easier for you and your employees.
6. Backups are important
A key feature of just about all industry-trusted cloud hosted services is they provide secure access and very impressive data backups. So, retrieving call history, recorded conversations, voicemail messages, and even user or system profile versions, is always simple and very quick. So, always reference your Hosted VoIP PBX provider’s SLA to confirm they provide thorough backups and restores, before you sign on with them.
7. Disaster recovery
Today’s business continuity includes a solid Disaster Management Plan (DMP). Risks of floods, fire, theft, or other miscellaneous damage are not anything you have to worry about with Hosted VoIP PBX. Sure, you could have to replace some desk telephones, switches, a router used for quality of service (QoS), but your PBX and call traffic is hosted – secure, safe, and would still be up and working.
While your locations are down, you will be able to have full access to your telephone services using applications like UC-One on your computers and/or smartphones. And, if you decide to have your provider ship you new desk telephones, all you’ll need to do is connect them to Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) cables that have access to the Internet, and they will download all your current telephone configurations as soon as they boot up. So, even if you can’t fully operate your business, you can still make/receive calls, talk with customers/vendors and keep catch-up journals for when things come back to normal.
8. Hosted PBX is very affordable
Piloting a Hosted VoIP PBX is not painful or expensive. Most times, only a few hours is needed for your current IT support team to work with the Hosted VoIP PBX provider to turn up a Dev/Test model with a couple of telephones. You can easily install a few at one location before rolling out to other sites (if you have more than on office). As long as you have stable Internet with enough bandwidth for the Hosted VoIP PBX, you can be up and running quickly.
9. Easy to scale
Cloud hosting is one sure way to easily scale your business, and Hosted VoIP PBX is made for this. Additional lines, deleting users, and account changes can all be done through the Hosted VoIP PBX provider’s web portal. And you do not have to install additional hardware or calculate depreciation and/or plan changes in scheduled maintenance – this is one of the largest cloud advantages. Cloud services share storage, memory, processors, network bandwidth, and as customers applications grow, resources are virtually re-allocated – without the customer ever having to be involved.
10. Save money
One very clear and undisputed advantage of Hosted VoIP PBX is long-term cost savings. Mostly due to less hardware and maintenance, but also pooled licensure and support/maintenance. On premises PBX systems require hardware and for that hardware that is your PBX to continue running, requires the cost of hardware upgrades, maintenance, and repairs.
Hosted VoIP PBX providers own most all the risks associated PBX and network physical infrastructure. Hosted VoIP PBX does not need any carrier private lines – just Internet. And, stable, high capacity Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) is more secure and affordable day after day. And with Hosted VoIP PBX providers operating at such a large scale, always growing, their equipment maintenance almost never interrupts your business. The Hosted VoIP PBX provider model provides for ongoing maintenance and deployment of hardware, with you not having to incur any additional maintenance costs.
So, what now?
Finding a Managed Service Provider (MSP) and Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP) with good references, an excellent reputation, and a strong relationship with partners is important. Fuse.Cloud offers our Fuse.Voice solution for Hosted VoIP PBX VoIP telephone, and we are an industry-leader for a flexible, secure, and reliable telephone solution.
Looking to make the switch? Contact us to get ahead in this evolving digital age.
