Have you heard about hosted business office phone systems in Kitchener and wonder if they would be the best choice for you? If you have a business with 1 to 1,000 users and you don’t have the massive budget or internal IT department to purchase and run your own on-premise VoIP telephone system, then you basically have two other options for VoIP – a hosted phone system or a managed phone system. In this post, we will contrast the hosted vs the managed systems and look at the differences between the two choices, We will point out the disadvantages of a hosted phone system and let you know what benefits a managed phone system can have for your business.
If you are unsure about which type of phone system would be the most suitable for your business, contact the professionals at Network Telecom. We are experts in the telecom business and can help your make an informed decision. Network Telecom provides full-service telecom, telephone system, IP, and VOIP technology support services. Our support services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year with one easy call to 1-866-764-7866.
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What Is A Hosted Business Office Phone System?
A hosted office phone system is where a service provider routes a company’s voice and data traffic through the service provider’s own PBX (public switched telephone network) equipment. To learn more about PBX and what it is, read our blog post entitled PBX Phone System. With a hosted IP-PBX, the customer needs to purchase IP phones and possibly a router and network switch if they are needed to ensure that there is one specifically dedicated to VoIP. The hosted PBX does offer a lower initial investment than purchasing an on-premise phone system and has relatively low monthly service costs, however, there are some disadvantages that you should be aware of before deciding to choose this type of service.
The following chart shows a quick summary of the Hosted vs Managed phone systems.
Disadvantages of a Hosted Office Phone System
Before deciding on a hosted phone system for your business, you should consider the following:
- Cost of Additional Phones: When you want to add additional IP phones to your system, you will need to purchase and program them. The additional phones will be added to your service plan, potentially increasing your monthly costs.
- Pay for Upgrades: Your business will have to pay for any upgrades.
- Network Qualification: This is the customer’s responsibility.
- No Feature Programming: All feature programming is done by the customer.
- No Staff Training: Any necessary training for your staff is your responsibility.
- Ongoing Maintenance Costs: There are no maintenance costs for the actual IP-PBC, however, all the maintenance for the on-premise and remote phones and network devices is your responsibility.
- Additional Cost for Extended Features: Features such as conferencing may have additional costs.
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What Is A Managed Phone System?
A managed VoIP phone system is perfect for any business which has 1 to 1,000 users because you don’t need extensive IT resources and you can leave all of the hassles of managing your office phone system to a third-party service provider’s team of trained technicians. According to toolbox.com, with a managed VoIP, a third-party will provide your business the necessary equipment, software, operations facilities, and technical expertise required for an IP-enabled phone system without the high costs, risks, and headaches of installing your own on-premise VoIP system. Your service provider will typically also design, integrate, and deploy the new equipment and software as well as manage and maintain it along with any previous system you may have.
Advantages Of A Managed Phone System
The managed phone system offers many advantages such as the following:
- 24/7 Technical Support: Trained technicians will be available to you 24/7 to help manage and troubleshoot any technical issue that may arise.
- Latest Technology: Most third-party providers aggressively pursue product development so that your company will always have access to the latest technology. You won’t have to worry about your equipment becoming obsolete.
- Low Initial Investment: No need to purchase expensive equipment and software, plus you can use your existing technologies in conjunction with a new system.
- Predictable Monthly Expenses: Service packages are based on monthly charges or a fixed flat-rate bill for easy budgeting.
- Service-Level Agreement Assurances: You can be assured that your system will still perform at peak levels even during security threats, and disaster recovery for business continuity.
- Flexibility: Accommodations can be made for your company’s fast growth, seasonal peaks, and unexpected downturns.
Which Is Better – Hosted Or Managed Phone Systems?
While both the hosted and managed phone system options provide low initial set-up costs and easy-to-budget monthly bills, the managed phone system does has some clear advantages. With the managed phone system you won’t have to worry about training your own staff or programming your own features, not to mention surprise maintenance or upgrade costs. If you are still unsure about your decision, talk to the knowledgeable staff at Network Telecom today. We would love to sit down with you and answer any questions you may have to help you make the right choice for your business. We have been installing and servicing telecommunication systems throughout Southwestern Ontario since 1979.
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Sources
Managed Vs. Hosted Vs. On-Premise VoIP