During the COVID pandemic, business owners were forced to hastily shift their employees to a remote work lifestyle. In 2020, there was no time to properly plan, assess, or analyze the best timeline for this rollout. The important thing was to keep people safe, keep them home as much as possible, and it just had to be done quickly. The office spaces that were once loud and lively were suddenly either partially or fully darkened. The telecommuting life began.
How was it possible to keep employees and customers connected? Well, the adjustment wasn’t easy, but thanks to modern communication, many organizations transitioned more fully to business voice services like voice over IP (VoIP) solutions. This took care of voice communication via the internet, no matter where employees were located, or what devices they were utilizing.
Now it’s 2021 and the dust has settled a bit…. literally on the office equipment like the landline phones, for example. Companies of all sizes are finally able to catch their breath and assess what a continuous or post-pandemic world looks like for their businesses moving forward. What’s happening is a realization that remote work is the way of the future, at least partially, if not permanently. And for those who had been dragging their feet about ditching their landline phones or on-premises private branch exchange (PBX) systems, COVID helped to rip off the bandage. The rapid movement to remote work tested many businesses, who learned that they could live without the outdated and often expensive telephone equipment. They adapted and are now looking ahead.
A digital transformation is happening where businesses are migrating to a hosted PBX, aka a cloud PBX service. Basically, they are trading in those dusty landline phones, for clean and shiny invisible ones in the cloud. With a cloud-based hosted PBX, coworkers can collaborate from anywhere with more advanced technology, and at a fraction of the cost. They are choosing hosted VoIP services, not just out of necessity, but because of the plentiful advantages. Let’s break it down.
Here are 8 reasons why hosted PBX is important for your business.
1. A Major Cost Savings
A hosted PBX is a phone service provided by a VoIP service provider that can replace an on-premises PBX system. The cost savings advantages for the company are that there’s no hardware to purchase or software to upgrade. The company can subscribe only to the services that are needed at the moment. Then scale up or down at any time. At the end of the day, with a hosted PBX, money isn’t wasted on anything unnecessarily. That’s good news, right? But how can a PBX in the cloud be so much cheaper? Typically, the cost is shared between thousands of other users accessing the cloud, therefore, the VoIP service provider can pass along this savings to customers in the form of lower subscription fees. Now, that’s even better news.
2. Ease of Setup and Usability
A hosted PBX can be up and running within a day or two and is very user friendly. Specialized training is not necessary to start using it immediately. It usually comes with an intuitive interface on a desktop computer or mobile device. Companies experience little to no downtime getting started. It’s all software based, so in just a few clicks phone lines or other services can be added. How easy is that, huh?
3. Location, Location, Location
A hosted PBX service is not limited to a geographical location. This ain’t your grandma’s PBX. In the old days, customer calls came in and were routed to employees through landlines within a single office under the same roof. With a hosted PBX, employees can work from ANYWHERE in the world where there is internet access.
4. Flexibility
Ok, so the employees can work from anywhere and everyone on the team is connected with the same cloud based hosted PBX. But do they all have to use the same devices or connect in the same way? Absolutely not. A hosted PBX is flexible. Employees can choose what suits them. From IP phones to mobile apps, let them talk how they want.
5. Reliability
Unlike traditional PBX systems that had relied on hard wires and were susceptible to damage or failure, a hosted PBX solution relies on the internet and is usually managed by the VoIP service provider. They are ready with disaster recovery plans and dedicated resources to get servers back up within seconds.
6. Security
VoIP service providers have dedicated teams to handle firewall security, software updates, and the best part is that you can let the professionals handle this. It’s included in your subscription when you setup a hosted PBX solution. And it’s generally more secure than an on-premises PBX system.
7. Encouragement of Collaboration
With a hosted PBX system, it’s easier than ever to encourage employees to join an audio or video call with a single click. Groups or individuals can communicate quickly, chat in real time, share ideas, and simply work better, faster, and smarter.
8. Integration
For companies that are still dragging their feet with their traditional PBX system, but still want to benefit from a cloud-based PBX solution, have no fear. You can have the best of both worlds. In most cases, VoIP service provider can integrate legacy systems with a hosted PBX.
COVID may have jumpstarted a trend toward cloud-based VoIP services. But when you actually look at the advantages like lowering costs, the ability to work anywhere, and advanced features, it just down right makes sense to continue moving in that direction for the long haul.
For more information or to request a free consultation or quote – click here.
