Hosted PBX phone systems are revolutionizing how businesses serve their customers, grow their business, and support their employees. A Hosted PBX delivers enterprise-level functionality at a affordable price point. Large enterprises have been taking advantage of the expanded capabilities for years. Smaller companies generally do not have the capital required to purchase or maintain on-site IP PBX (Private Branch Exchange) systems.

Until now, companies have had limited choices when it comes to telephone systems. Beefed up residential phone systems claiming to use Voice over IP started to show up about 5-years ago. These systems lacked the functionality, expandability and had generally less than business-grade performance.Hosted Voice over IP is a feature-rich alternative to traditional analog phone systems that is designed for the needs of small and medium-sized businesses that require an advanced telecommunications solution.

The right telephone system is a competitive advantage

The choice of a phone system can make or break a company’s efforts to present a professional image. All of the work your company does building its brands, capital investment in systems and staff can literally be destroyed by a telecommunications system that does not have the necessary capabilities and provides a poor customer experience.

Future flexibility should be a key decision criteria

The choice of a business telephone system can have significant and long lasting effects on an organization. While cost is certainly a factor, the features and flexibility, including expandability can have profound affects on an organization’s ability to implement future changes. A company’s existing phone system is often cited as the primary reason why many business plans have to be delayed, modified or even scrapped.

It is impossible to predict the future, and that it why it is extremely important for a company to have systems in place that allows the company to adapt to future changes without the need to invest additional capital. This is especially true of a company’s telecommunications system.

Products and people change, companies expand into different geographic regions or merge with other companies are just some of the possible changes that can happen. Almost any change will impact telecommunications and that is why it is important to have a system that can accommodate future changes.

Voice over IP, and more specifically Hosted VoIP enables any company to easily and with minimal additional capital investment, adapt to future changes. Traditional phone systems always require the purchase of additional hardware or modules to facilitate changes or expansion. This is why companies should consider future flexibility as one of the key decision criteria.

Improved Productivity and Optimized Customer Service

A Hosted Voice over IP telephone system delivers a vast array of innovative features and capabilities that enables companies to improve employee productivity while delivering superior customer service. For instance, a Hosted VoIP telephone system allows easy customization of IP PBX features such as the Auto-Attendant or Hunt Group to intelligently route calls to the proper location within your organization regardless of geography. A Hosted VoIP telephone system allows employees to access voice mail messages from any telephone, forward their incoming calls to a different telephone number, including a cell phone. A Hosted VoIP solution also has the ability to convert voice mail messages to e-mail.

Manage future growth and expansion

A Hosted VoIP phone system allows companies to start with a small number of extensions and expand their system to any size in any geographic location. Adding, moving or removing phones is easy and can be done remotely by the Hosted VoIP Service Provider. Managing growth in a hosted environment is drastically easier than with an on-premises VoIP phone system.

Virtual Companies/Geographical Freedom

A Hosted VoIP phone system can route incoming calls to any employee, but unlike a hardware PBX system, employees don’t have to be at an office phone to receive calls. Employees or sub-contractors can telecommute, taking calls on cell phones or home lines. The Simultaneous Ring feature allows calls to be easily forwarded to cell phones or other alternate locations, enabling a completely virtual company and reducing office overhead expenses.

Lower Total Cost of Ownership

The start-up costs for a Hosted VoIP phone system are significantly lower than a traditional phone system or Premise VoIP system. With a Hosted VoIP phone system your initial investment is limited to the VoIP phone sets which range in cost from $150.00 to $350.00. A hosted PBX smooths out cash flow requirements and frees up cash in the first year for other needs. Many Hosted VoIP Service providers offer unlimited local and long distance calling for a monthly flat rate.

On-Going Maintenance/Moves/Add’s & Changes

One of the biggest benefits of a Hosted PBX is there’s no telecommunications hardware or software to maintain on your premises: all day-to-day operations and maintenance of your PBX is performed by by the Hosted VoIP Provider. Should you need to move a phone from one person to the other or even across the county, just notify the Hosted VoIP Service Provider and they can make the changes remotely. Most Hosted VoIP Providers offers 24×7management and monitoring at no extra charge.

Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery

Business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities are a key benefit of a Hosted telephone system. Unlike traditional telephone systems and premise VoIP solutions, a Hosted PBX telephone system ensures that your phone service is always available, even if your physical office location has been rendered inoperable.

What happens if I loose power or my office become inoperable.

With a Hosted VoIP telephone system, callers to your business will still be able to reach any employee/extension and leave a message even if your office location has been completely destroyed. Your employees will also be able to retrieve their messages. Your primary phone numbers, including toll free numbers can be re-routed to an alternate location in a matter of minutes via a web interface. You can forward incoming calls to a users cell phone if the users primary phone becomes inoperable.

Easily Set Up Your Phone System in a New Temporary Location

If you are able to retrieve your IP phone sets, they can be plugged into any high speed internet connect and function as if they were in their original location. Your employees can even take their phones to their home offices, provided they have a high speed internet connection, and operate as if they were in their offices. Callers to your company will not be aware that your primary office location is no longer operational.

If you are unable to retrieve your IP Phones, the Hosted VoIP service provider can generally ship replacement phones to any location in as little as 48-hours. When the replacement phones arrive, simply connect them to any high speed internet connection and they will operate as if they were in your original office location.

To learn more about AVAD Technologies Hosted VoIP system please call (800) 733-4136.