With phone support and service at the heart of your business' communications, having an efficient phone system is critical. Traditional landlines can slow your business down with outdated features and tied up lines. In today's fast paced world, keeping communications open and accessible between you, your employees, customers and business partners not only allows for quicker turn around and happy clients, but also can save you money in the long run. However, it's clear that not all phone systems are created equally.
For many small businesses, hosted PBX is a flexible and convenient option. Hosted PBX operates over the Internet so it's cost effective, has the ability to change as your business does and has a ton of features landlines just can't compete with. If you're still not sure whether or not you should make the switch, here are 5 dead giveaways that your business needs to ditch the landline and upgrade to a hosted PBX.
- You're paying for long distance and office-to-office calls.
Dialing out seven digits (or 10 digits if it's long-distance!) just to call your coworker down the hall or in an office in a different area code is so out-dated. Since the advent of VoIP and nationwide mobile plans, who even knows what long distance means anymore? With a hosted PBX system, you get free on-network calls, meaning between or within office locations, and low usage rates for calls outside your offices.
- Lack of scalability.
When businesses grow, new employees are hired and those new employees need telephone access. Traditional phone systems take time and money to install, where hosted PBX has low upfront costs and allows you to easily add or remove extensions -- meaning you only pay for the lines you need.
- You spend too much time on expert support.
Needing IT assistance in general can be very frustrating. So, what could be worse than needing expert support for managing and troubleshooting your phone system when you need to make some phone calls? Hosted PBX puts you in charge with a web-based management portal so you can move, add and change lines quickly and easily without any specialized assistance. Plus, more technical tasks like upkeep and maintenance are managed by the hosted PBX provider so you can focus on your business, not your phone system.
- You are paying maintenance and hardware fees.
Whether you're outsourcing your IT support or have someone on your payroll, your IT person can focus on other areas than your phone maintenance because with a hosted PBX, your phone solution provider does all this for you as part of your phone system package. In general, traditional hardware can be expensive and requires knowledge to maintain – and usually long-term contracts, too. Cloud-based systems typically cost much less, and since you'll be leasing equipment, the hosted PBX provider will be able to provide you with a phone and new lines in no time.
- You don't have modern features.
Landlines don't offer much in the way of features, but hosted PBX is loaded with professional features that will improve your business communications from day one. Exact features may change from provider to provider, but here's an example of some features you can expect when you implement a Voxox Office hosted PBX system:
- Caller ID with name
- Call waiting with Caller ID
- 3-way calling
- Custom music and messaging on hold
- Call forwarding
- Call transfer
- Speed dialing
- Anonymous call rejection
- Call return
- Standard voicemail
- Message waiting indicator
- Free on-network calls
- Online account Management with real-time call logs
- Abbreviated Dialing
- Call hunting
- Simultaneous ring
- Follow me
- SMS callback
- Web and email enabled calls
- Ring groups
For prospects, reliability and quality service are key determining factors when selecting a company to do business with. A hosted PBX system is quick and easy to set up, so your business can keep moving along and maintain a professional image even as you transition to a new phone system. Oh, and did we mention that hosted PBX gives you one monthly bill for all office locations? Just another reason why you should consider switching to hosted PBX for your business phone needs.
