A Primer on Hosted Voice
July 18, 2018
Category: Phone Systems
Hosted voice is a phone system and provider all in one, including the phones, dial tones, and phone numbers. Because the system lives in the cloud, the convenience of having a centralized system without the bulky equipment is just one reason why many businesses are opting to switch to hosted voice. Generally, the only equipment needed at your business’s location is the phone itself!
Consider it this way: if you are starting a business and you need landlines, instead of calling a traditional service provider, you could call a hosted voice provider and they can give you whole package directly.
How Hosted Voice Works
A hosted voice system works by keeping the majority of any necessary equipment located on the premise of a secure hosted voice exchange server. With the hosted voice service equipment off-site, your business won’t need to purchase or install any equipment at your location—rather, the equipment can be leased or loaned and needed software can be installed by a third party.
When a phone call is placed to your business, instead of being routed directly to the dialed number, the phone call is sent to the off-site hosted voice system; from there, via the internet, it is sent to the extension of your choice. All of this happens in real time with no delay.
Features of Hosted Voice
Hosted voice systems come with a plethora of features, including:
- Call management with call parking, voicemail to email, and ring groups.
- Call centers with agents, pause, and queues.
- Call conferencing with conference bridges and three way conference calling.
- Music on hold, commercials, or both.
- Virtual auto attendants with multiple top level and sub-level attendants.
- Origination and termination solutions with E911 support, toll free numbers, and domestic and international termination.
- Reports about call traffic, call volume, activity, and accounting.
Benefits of Hosted Voice
Perhaps the most enticing benefit is that the cost of buying a hosted voice system is traditionally less expensive than buying a full on premise phone system. Other notable benefits worth considering include:
- Endless phone system features.
- Eliminated on-site IT issues.
- Eliminated CAPEX costs.
- Future-proofed phone systems.
- Remote access availability.
- Call mirroring.
- Multimodal access to your networks.
- Operational phone systems when traditional phone lines go down.
- Continuous upgrades in the cloud at no expense to the customer.
Final Thoughts
The modern office is now moving away from the legacy phone system and joining the ease, cost savings, and flexibility of a hosted voice service. Traditional legacy phone systems require complicated and costly hard-wiring for each and every phone in the building; the bottom line is a legacy phone system will cost you more money than a hosted voice system. Clearly, hosted voice systems are the best option for any business.
If your business is interested in hosted voice services, or wants to learn more about how hosted voice tools and features can enhance your business, contact us for a demo today.
