What is Hosted Telephony?
Hosted telephony means, in essence, making phone calls over the internet. It’s using a cloud-based telephone system. It is a generic term which means you can have a fully functioning telephone service but without needing to buy hardware, other than handsets, as you would see with a traditional, physical telephone system.
As the name suggests, your hosted telephone system is ‘hosted’ online – away from your premises.
Click here for further information about traditional, Business Telephone Systems..
Most people have heard of ‘VoIP phones’. VoIP phones are an example of hosted telephony but are not the only type of hosted telephony solution.
Contact us for more information about VoIP phones.
What types of businesses can benefit from a hosted telephone system?
The most important thing to consider when choosing and investing in a telephone system is not the type of business – but the needs of your business now and in the future. That’s where we add value in helping clients to make an informed decision based on your needs now and those anticipated in the future.
What are the pros and cons of hosted telephony?
Pros:
- Smaller set up cost than a traditional, physical site-based telephone system
- No upgrading generally required
- Offers integrated facilities such as call recording at low cost
- Great for businesses with 5 to 20 people where the number of people doesn’t change very often
- Easier to control telephone costs due to inclusive minutes
- Easy to set up remote access
- Generally no cabling required if PC network is in place
- Excellent for disaster recovery
Cons:
- Limited range of features to support your business
- If there’s a fault with the broadband, all phones are down
- Call recording on hosted systems are not generally PCI compliant
- Licence costs are based on a standard user with inclusive minutes which can lead to excessive costs where the number of calls is small and intermittent.
Example Hosted Telephony Client
We have a client who specialises in vehicle leasing for individuals and businesses of all sizes.
When they moved offices, they wanted to keep their original telephone number, so we advised them to have a hosted telephone system. This saved them a lot of time and disruption by not having to advise their customers and supplier of a new number.
At that time, they did not know if they would remain in their current premises or relocate in the future, too.
They have now recently decided to relocate and so their hosted telephone system can be moved very easily and quickly to their new premises without any disruption to their ability to make and receive calls and there’s no need for any major installation work as with a physical, traditional telephone system.
The company also benefits from one point of contact with a dedicated account manager if there are any queries or issues with the system rather than trying to ring or email large organisations such as BT for assistance.
As the company’s hosted telephone system works over the broadband, this means there are no call charges and comes with a fixed monthly cost making it easier for their budgeting and cost control.
Why choose Pinnacle Technologies for your hosted telephony?
We are a reseller.
This means all invoices are paid directly to Pinnacle Technologies and that means you only have one point of contact for any issues to do with the purchase, installation and monthly charges of your hosted telephony solution.
Most importantly, we pride ourselves on being advisers; not sales people!
Our slogan is: we don’t sell you products, we apply technology to make your communications EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE.
Therefore, we take a significant amount of time to learn and understand your business, its specific requirements and advise on the most appropriate telephone system for your business whether that be a hosted or physical solution.
Click here for further information about why you should choose Pinnacle Technologies to assist with identifying the best hosted telephony solution.
What Areas Do We Cover?
We can cover the whole of the UK. Based in the NW of England, we have customers all across the north of England and as far away as Belfast in Northern Ireland.
How do you get more information about whether hosted telephony is the best choice for your business?
Call me, Tony Parsons, on 0161 885 7150 or email tony@pinnacletech.co.uk for a no obligation chat.
