For most businesses, a telephone system consists of one or more pieces of equipment, housed at their business locations, that connects their business to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Often, this Private Branch Exchange (PBX), Key System or other premise-based solution requires a sizable investment in hardware as well as ongoing maintenance and upgrade fees.

Today, Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology is allowing small businesses to secure the features and functionality of a sophisticated PBX phone system for a fraction of the cost by using the Internet (instead of the PSTN) to carry voice traffic just as it does data traffic.

The problems most often cited include:

It’s too difficult to make a routine Move/Add/Change to the phone system.

The current system lacks features that are critical to business productivity, and it costs too much to add them.

It is difficult to manage the system across multiple office locations, and it costs too much to expand them.

VOIP telephony answers the call for an affordable, robust and easy to manage phone system with a managed service offering known as Hosted IP-PBX.

This solution makes all of the traditional PBX features available to a customer while a VOIP service provider owns hosts, manages and updates the equipment. Hosted IP-PBX service offers many advantages including:

No/Low Capital Costs

With no key system or PBX to purchase there is no large capital expenditure needed.

Predictable Operating Expense

Monthly voice and data charges are usually calculated on a per telephone basis

No Maintenance Expenses

Because the VOIP service provider owns the equipment, they are responsible for all the costs associated with equipment and software upgrades.

No Management Expenses

The VOIP service provider is responsible for managing the equipment. Routine changes like adding a new person to the system or changing an extension number can he done by the customer via a simple web interface.

With a Hosted IP-PBX service, smaller businesses can now duplicate the same calling features normally found in the big PBX phone systems of large enterprises simply by contracting with a provider that hosts the technology off-site.

Features such as Auto-Attendant, Music On Hold, Extension Dialing, Conference Bridges, Business-Class Voicemail, Bridges, Caller-ID with Name, Call Waiting, Call Transfer, 3-Way Calling, Call Forwarding, Do Not Disturb, Distinctive Ringing, Hunt Groups, Ring Groups, Lifetime Customer Support and more are included with every Virtual Office calling plan.

Hosted IP-PBX services like Virtual Office can also help businesses eliminate the overhead cost associated with brick and mortar buildings since employees may work from any location equipped with a high-speed Internet connection.

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