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Although VoiceOver IP has been around for a while, internet connections have only recently become fast enough to provide good call quality. Now, VoIP has become a real option for businesses looking at ways to improve their business model. In this article, we will explain how your company can make use of Hosted PBX service and employ staff who work from home, while cutting costs.
What is Hosted PBX?
Hosted PBX is a service which gives you most of the features of a regular office-based phone system. For example, you can transfer calls, put calls on hold and divert calls. You also have access to advanced features which are often not included in office-based PBX systems, such as call queuing, call recording, and IVR Menu Systems. Rather than buying expensive PBX Phone Systems, you pay a monthly fee to rent a place on a Hosted PBX system. This allows for substantial money saving over buying a phone system.
Cut Costs
When you look at employing a home/remote worker (for example, to answer calls and make appointments), you need to be able to transfer incoming calls to them without incurring divert charges which can mount up over time. You also need to give the caller confidence that their call is being handled professionally. With a Hosted PBX system, calls are transferred using VoIP and the internet, which means there are no call transfer charges. And because the call control never leaves the Hosted PBX system, the caller still receives a professional service with features such as call queuing and music on hold. You also reduce costs by not having to pay for office space, heating and lighting for home workers.
Scalability
With Hosted PBX, you can easily setup additional users within a few minutes and theoretically, add an unlimited number of extensions. With a normal phone system, you would need to ensure you had enough phone lines to handle the number of calls you are receiving. Otherwise, callers would either hear an engaged tone, or be sent to a voicemail system. With VoIP, you don't have this limitation. Hosted PBX system can handle as many calls as you need to receive by queuing calls. Most good providers have extra capacity on their network to ensure call quality is always maintained and callers never hear an engaged tone. So, if you have an advertising run that's more successful than you expect, or have an important event that creates unusually high call volume, you don't need to worry.
Remote Working
Most companies choose to provide staff with a physical VoIP phone which looks like any other normal office phone. There are also options of using VoIP software-based phones which allow users to make/receive calls through the Hosted PBX system while they are on the road. In addition, when bad whether hits and most companies have to close their phone lines because staff can't make it to the call centre, your company will stay open as usual because all your staff will be working from home.
About The Author
This article was written by Dan Journo of Kesher Communications (UK).
What is Hosted PBX?
Hosted PBX is a service which gives you most of the features of a regular office-based phone system. For example, you can transfer calls, put calls on hold and divert calls. You also have access to advanced features which are often not included in office-based PBX systems, such as call queuing, call recording, and IVR Menu Systems. Rather than buying expensive PBX Phone Systems, you pay a monthly fee to rent a place on a Hosted PBX system. This allows for substantial money saving over buying a phone system.
Cut Costs
When you look at employing a home/remote worker (for example, to answer calls and make appointments), you need to be able to transfer incoming calls to them without incurring divert charges which can mount up over time. You also need to give the caller confidence that their call is being handled professionally. With a Hosted PBX system, calls are transferred using VoIP and the internet, which means there are no call transfer charges. And because the call control never leaves the Hosted PBX system, the caller still receives a professional service with features such as call queuing and music on hold. You also reduce costs by not having to pay for office space, heating and lighting for home workers.
Scalability
With Hosted PBX, you can easily setup additional users within a few minutes and theoretically, add an unlimited number of extensions. With a normal phone system, you would need to ensure you had enough phone lines to handle the number of calls you are receiving. Otherwise, callers would either hear an engaged tone, or be sent to a voicemail system. With VoIP, you don't have this limitation. Hosted PBX system can handle as many calls as you need to receive by queuing calls. Most good providers have extra capacity on their network to ensure call quality is always maintained and callers never hear an engaged tone. So, if you have an advertising run that's more successful than you expect, or have an important event that creates unusually high call volume, you don't need to worry.
Remote Working
Most companies choose to provide staff with a physical VoIP phone which looks like any other normal office phone. There are also options of using VoIP software-based phones which allow users to make/receive calls through the Hosted PBX system while they are on the road. In addition, when bad whether hits and most companies have to close their phone lines because staff can't make it to the call centre, your company will stay open as usual because all your staff will be working from home.
About The Author
This article was written by Dan Journo of Kesher Communications (UK).
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Comments (1)
Commented:
My company uses OneBox (http://www.new.onebox.com) and we find it to be very flexible and convenient. The feature I find most useful is that voicemails are turned into emails -- so I have just one "inbox queue" of things to get done. There is some discussion of this as a key component of a "virtual office" in my article:
Create and Run a Virtual Office
https://www.experts-exchange.com/ITPro/Consulting/A_3826.html