Business phone systems have evolved dramatically in the past decade. Moving away from the reliance on traditional phone services, using copper wires and on-site private branch exchange (PBX) systems, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has helped transform business communications. Business VoIP and cloud phone systems, using hosted PBX systems, have helped business leaders access advanced functionality while significantly reducing operating costs over legacy phone systems.
Top Features of the Best Hosted PBX Systems
A hosted PBX enables businesses to take advantage of features in the cloud that would previously have been unavailable without buying expensive hardware or software.
Extra: Help Your Workforce Stay Productive and Connected During Coronavirus Containment Measures
Hosted PBX systems enable your team to stay connected as they work from home or in any remote situation. With an internet connection, employees can receive calls automatically routed to their mobile devices. They can participate in virtual meetings using screen-sharing unified communications. They can connect their mobile and laptop apps in real time to stay connected and get work done.
The best hosted PBX systems will be able to offer these six features.
Feature No. 1: Cost Savings
Your hosted PBX system provider will be responsible for managing the system, reducing your downtime. This shift in responsibility also reduces your out-of-pocket costs. Another cost savings is that there is no complex infrastructure to purchase or manage through a third party, as with most traditional PBX business phone systems.
Hosted PBX and VoIP offer unlimited domestic local and long-distance calling, which cuts down on monthly phone bills.
Feature No. 2: Scalability
A hosted PBX system can evolve as your business grows. Unlike traditional phone services, a hosted PBX lets you quickly add phone lines or extensions, or seamlessly connect to mobile devices when you need to.
These mobility features can provide significant advantages for your business. Besides being able to change features, users and functionality quickly, you can avoid overpaying for capacity that you don’t need without limiting your ability to grow rapidly as your business expands.
Feature No. 3: Feature-Rich Options
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hosted PBX system offers advanced phone features that go beyond voice and data. These options include features such as:
- Auto-attendant.
- Voicemail to text.
- Custom hold music.
- Call recording.
- Hold, forward and transfer.
- Three-way calling.
- Simultaneous and sequential ringing.
- Extension dialing and Enhanced 911 service.
A cloud-based business phone service with a hosted PBX may also provide advanced capabilities to help your business run more efficiently with combined unified communications, offering:
- Voice and video calling.
- Messaging.
- Conferencing.
- Collaboration.
Feature No. 4: Disaster Recovery
Even if your business suffers a power outage or natural disaster, all of your data is safe in the cloud. Calls can be rerouted to mobile phones or other locations quickly, and your data will always be accessible.
Feature No. 5: Mobility
Soft clients or apps can be added to almost any desktop or mobile device. This additional functionality extends your business network to remote workers without having to add expensive hardware.
Employees can work seamlessly, regardless of location. A hosted PBX system routes calls to mobile phones so that employees can make and receive calls from the same number they would use as if they were sitting at their desks.
Feature No. 6: Network Monitoring and Maintenance
Because the hosted PBX system provider handles maintenance (rather than an internal or third-party company), you can avoid having to have dedicated staff to service it. There’s no need to take a hosted PBX system offline for maintenance or updates, which reduces your downtime.
Your hosted PBX system and business VoIP service provider should be able to handle problems and interruptions without impacting your business.
Hosted PBX and VoIP Service Providers: There is a Difference
If you are looking to take advantage of the benefits of a hosted PBX and VoIP service, you should be aware that there can be big differences between providers when it comes to reliability.
Look for a hosted PBX system provider that can deliver dedicated fiber lines to your business. Nationally hosted PBX and VoIP service providers often lease lines from third parties. If there’s a problem somewhere along the pathway, it may take longer to diagnose and resolve. Residential VoIP or cable companies will lease lines, and share bandwidth among customers. This means that your system can have quality issues because of traffic on the network from your neighbors.
Work with a hosted PBX system provider that provides uptime guarantees. As part of their service, they should have IT teams that monitor the network 24/7 year-round for reliability and security.
If there is a problem, you should be able to talk to a customer care professional that is nearby. National companies, residential and cable VoIP providers often have contact centers thousands of miles away or even in another country. This distance can delay repairs.
LOGIX is Built for Business
LOGIX is a Texas-based company that provides hosted PBX and VoIP for business. Service-level agreements guarantee 99.999% uptime in writing. A dedicated network operations center team of information technology and security professionals monitors networks 24/7 year-round to maintain consistent and reliable service. If there is a problem, LOGIX has Texas-based customer care and service teams, also available 24/7 year-round, to handle service requests, installations and maintenance.
Hosted PBX and VoIP services are delivered on fully dedicated business fiber lines with symmetrical upload and download speeds. With LOGIX, there is no sharing of bandwidth with nearby businesses or neighborhoods. LOGIX owns and operates the largest privately owned fiber network in Texas, spanning more than 300,000 fiber miles.
LOGIX offers a fiber network that is built for business to deliver the most reliable experience, including hosted PBX and VoIP business phone service.
Request a quote today for all of your hosted PBX and VoIP business phone solutions.