What is Hosted PBX?
Posted by
Ben Rife on Tue, Feb 14, 2012 @ 12:25 PM
A PBX system serves as a switch that routes incoming phone calls to individual stations, or extensions. For business owners, this used to mean having a telco room on the premises where all the required equipment was stored. But, today, with the use of “hosted PBX”, this is no longer necessary. Your PBX hardware is stored, or hosted, at the invoip data center.
Advantages of Hosted PBX
Hosted PBX helps businesses by cutting costs on telco charges for T1's, multiple LAN lines, etc... But, let's look at some of the other great reasons why businesses are changing to hosted PBX:
- There's no expensive equipment to buy. That means no outrageous start-up costs to get your business communication system customized exactly how you need it.
- Because you don't own the routers, switches and firewalls supporting your hosted PBX network, there's no telecom equipment for you to have to manage. We provide technical support for all equipment.
- You don't even have to purchase the Cisco phones. We provide you with state-of-the-art Cisco phones at no extra charge. We install, customize and maintain them as needed.
How Does Hosted PBX Work?
When your clients and customers make a call to your business, the call is routed straight to your hosted PBX system. The system processes the call, per the customer's chosen options, and routes the call to the appropriate extension. Basically, your system provides all the features of an advanced call routing system. This is all done without you having to deal with the technical side of the entire routing process. That's because the actual hardware is hosted and maintained somewhere else, off your business premises.
Quality Features Provided with Hosted PBX
With hosted PBX, you don't pay to lease large pieces of telecom equipment that you know nothing about. Instead, you just pay one fixed price per Cisco phone. Here are some of the high-quality features that come standard with your service:
- Custom Auto Attendant
As a business owner, you know how important it is to impress your potential customers from the initial contact moment. Custom auto attendants allow you to decide the first thing customers will hear when they call you through your hosted PBX. It introduces your company and brand, then provides them with options to have their call routed to the correct person or department.
- Custom Music-on-Hold
This is a great option for providing an interactive experience for your customers while they wait on hold. Yes, this feature allows you to play soothing music for customers waiting on hold for departments such as technical support. But, it's also an excellent tool for marketing and advertising. Those holding for the sales department can hear customized recordings of current specials and deals. While the billing department can play recordings of department hours, where to mail checks, how to pay online, etc...
- Extension Dialing
With this feature, your callers can bypass long sales pitches and option details by just dialing the extension they want. They can simply dial it at anytime. This feature also allows for customers to “dial by name” if they don't know the direct extension. With this option, they simply dial letters that coincide with the name of the person they're looking for. Once they make their selection, the system routes the call to the correct extension.
Get Hosted PBX Now
Interested in finding out more about how hosted PBX could save your company money? Contact invoip to schedule an appointment with one of our quality sales team specialists. We're sure we can find the perfect hosted PBX structure to suit your business phone needs.