Communications and the technologies that support it are an important part of every business. IT stakeholders are rightfully selective in deploying technologies and transitioning to new platforms, but often the advantages of leveraging a new technology, such as hosted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), outweigh the temporary inconveniences that such a change entails.
Hosted VoIP technologies have now been on the market long enough to prove their worth, and businesses should therefore think twice before delaying the transition from an on-premise private branch exchange (PBX) to a cloud-based VoIP solution any longer. There are four particular ways in which hosted VoIP proves it is worth the switch: improved centralization, reliability of the solution, improved collaboration opportunities, and decreased total cost.
Centralized Efficiency
Hosted VoIP solutions offer the opportunity to centrally manage the phone system in the same way that other software deployments, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and help desk technologies, are managed. Furthermore, many hosted VoIP customers are able to integrate the hosted VoIP solution with other relevant systems, such as those used for ticketing and analytics. The result is a more integrated, robust, and functional software deployment that IT can easily manage.
Reliability
Hosted VoIP technologies typically leverage the latest best practices for redundancy and failover capabilities, making hosted VoIP a highly reliable communications platform. Multiple communications and routing options are available if there is a network outage (for example, a call that cannot be completed can be routed straight to web-based voicemail).
Collaboration
In addition to the functional benefits of VoIP-supported solutions, such as unified communications (UC), there are practical advantages that facilitate better communication among team members. Hosted VoIP makes it easy to support remote employees and enable them with all of the communications tools they need to work with on-site teams. And the process of setting up a workstation for a new employee is much simpler thanks to the integrated and more efficient tools available with hosted VoIP.
Lower Total Cost of Ownership
Some PBX customers hesitate to transition to hosted VoIP because they are wary of the subscription and operating costs that accompany this switch (as opposed to the capitalized cost of PBX). However, hosted VoIP offers advantages that result in a lower total cost of ownership, such as seamless upgrade capabilities and ongoing support and maintenance.
An additional cost benefit of hosted VoIP is the ability to quickly and easily provide users with access to the newest communications features (such as UC through video and chat), which PBX cannot provide. These features would otherwise require an additional software investment.
Deploying a hosted VoIP communications solution results in a more efficient and reliable communications platform and provides an affordable means for a business to more easily collaborate and succeed. With the right tools and guidance, the switch from an on-premise PBX system can be relatively painless. eXemplify can help with this transition and ensure that companies can quickly begin leveraging the advantages of hosted VoIP. Contact us today to learn more about how hosted VoIP can make a positive difference for enterprise communications.