With a flood of hosted PBX solutions pouring onto the market, businesses are beginning to ask, "Is an online phone system right for us?"
The rise of online-based telephony has displaced many traditional landline services. Now it challenges onsite PBX, a popular technology amongst multi-office corporations.
As hosted PBX grows more advanced, many large businesses have found value in migrating to the cloud. It promises less maintenance and overhead, plus a greater level of scalability. Yet it also places restrictions on businesses in terms of customization and use.
As a prospective buyer, the two PBX options may seem a toss-up because there’s no clear winner between the two. For this reason, we’ve identified a few factors that may reveal the best solution.
1. Cost of Ownership
Add up two full years of service. Which option costs less: an investment in onsite PBX or monthly payments for hosted PBX? Consider maintenance in this calculation, too.
2. Functionality
Hosted PBX solutions come with dozens of free features. They also release new ones periodically. With that said, onsite PBX offers endless feature possibilities and configurations.
3. Customization
Onsite PBX systems are highly configurable. This is because technicians can build the systems to fit specific conditions and purposes. Although flexible, businesses may find some hosted PBX platforms limiting.
4. User Experience
How easily can you setup and use the system? Moreover, does the system allow for simple troubleshooting, upsizing and downsizing? Onsite PBX often requires dedicated personnel.
5. System Support
Without in-house tech support, onsite PBX doesn’t make sense. Businesses face too much uncertainty to invest in onsite PBX without the proper staff to operate it. Hosted PBX relieves businesses of the stresses of technology with customer care programs and knowledge bases.
