Tweet

Hosted VoIP- An Option

Guest post by: John Campbell

Article Overview: “Using a hosted system means you don’t have to worry about maintenance on ‘that box’ in the storage closet. If the system goes down it’s not your system to worry about.”

Hosted VoIP- An Option

Here I am, stuck on VoIP again. At least I'm not stuck in Lodi. Some of you might be thinking I am beating this theme to death but there is just so much going on with the continuing evolution of VoIP that I would be sued for negligence if I don't talk about it. And we don't want that.

Hosted VoIP is becoming a very attractive option. This means using someone else' VoIP system much like the Centrex system of POTS (plain old telephone system) whereby each line is connected to your provider's switch instead of having your own.

The good thing is that you don't have to buy your own VoIP system. The bad thing is that with hosted services you never stop paying. It also brings up the connotation of Centrex which companies have shied away from.

Let's get back to the good things. Using a hosted system means you don't have to worry about maintenance on 'that box' in the storage closet. If the system goes down it's not your system to worry about. But that's not a major concern anyway because these systems have redundancy everywhere. If the system ever did go down it would be because of a widespread problem and nobody else would be on the phone either.

Another advantage for a company is the enjoyment of all the features of VoIP giving them a better idea of what will suit their needs before buying their own system. Or, they might decide that the hosted service is just fine and stay with it.

The number of companies offering this service is growing rapidly. One thing that has happened is that vendors selling premise based systems have seen the light and are offering hosted services too. This is smart marketing because if they get a business to use their hosted service they will have the inside track when it comes time for the business to go with their own system. Familiarity breeds contentment.

One difference between hosted and premise based systems is that hosted IP becomes a service, not a product. Hosted providers develop long-term relationships with clients and have a vested interest in keeping them happy, instead of selling the system once and making more money on fixes or upgrades.

Another difference is with the equipment needed. The only equipment required for hosted VoIP is a switch, router and user handsets. Companies that buy and install an IP PBX can face large upfront capital expenditures, as well as maintenance and upgrade costs we already mentioned. Hosted IP can provide more stabilized monthly spending. Even when there are multiple sites in different areas there is only one bill instead of bills from different carriers.

Something that a business should consider when looking at any system, whether hosted or on site, is an 'out' clause. Sometimes Murphy's Law takes over and what you thought you were getting is a far cry from what you end up with. I always tell my clients there will be glitches- and there are- but I'm talking about major problems than don't get fixed in a timely manner or where you realize the system simply doesn't do what you were told it would do.

A potential problem with hosted VoIP is the carriers' ability to manage voice services when the delivery mechanism at the customer site is the enterprise LAN. It's one thing to be an expert on the cloud side, and quite Hosted VoIP- An Option another to look into a customer's Ethernet infrastructure, see which component is causing a problem and fix it remotely. This requires very capable IT people on the customer side.

Related Articles
  Misconceptions About VoIP
  Making Better Decisions for Your VoIP System
  VoIP: Trendsetter in Mobility
  FCC Formally Proposes National Broadband Plan
  Internet Telephony Has Changed Communications
  The Economics of E-Mail
  From POTS to VOIP treet mart Marketers have a powerful new weapon
  Blogging: Choosing The Right Platform
  The Next Generation VoIP contact center solutions
  Factors that Help VoIP Phone Systems Remain Ahead of the Competition
  Microsoft's New OneNote and Lync Apps for iPad, iPhone
  The Correct Way to Use Multiple Domain Names for SEO
  What is VoIP - Part 2 (cont.)
  Discover How Your Internet Home Business can benefit from a Wordpress Blog
  Why Hosted Exchange Makes Sense for Small Businesses
  iPad: A Miss for its Wi-Fi Function
  How to Blog Your Way to a Successful Home Business
  Millions of People Help You Communicate with Your Customers
  Top 10 Tips for Effective Telecommuting - Get an Extra 19 Hours of Work Done Each Week
  Contribution of Call Center Technologies

Article Tags: attractive option, centrex system, connotation, contentment, evolution, familiarity breeds, nbsp, negligence, old telephone, plain old telephone system, pots, premise, redundancy, smart marketing, storage closet, voip
Referred by: http://www.schooleymitchell.com/



Related Forum Posts
Re: Direct Mail Postcards - Post cards would be really expensive to send from Japan...but one way to advertise that is not expensive from overseas is by Cold Calling using cheap VoIP equipment. I know Japan has a really good internet connection, so as long as you are willing to stay up late, it might be an option. I cold call from Thailand far, far away from any city using a CDMA wireless internet connection and have had pretty good results. I find tho, that cold calling works best for business 2 business (b2b), rather than b2c products. --matt
Local Chamber of commerce - I would suggest something that has been under the radar for about 6 months now that I've been using for about a year and there is nothing like it.. Success On Contact it is referred to as a Permission Based Relationship Marketing Software. It has all the basics like list management, contact management, campaign management and such, but also integrates with inbound and outbound VoIP like Vonage, Skype and J2 Communications ( will actually automatically attach voicemails to contact record with play button), or create a new contact record if it does not recognise the inbound number calling. It also integrates with just a few clicks with web based voicebroadcasting services. Let's see what else...oh, internal email and newsletter client, newsletter and pdf post card and sales campaign creation. It also automatically pulls leads from your websites into your contact manager without you lifting a finger and notifies you within 60 seconds to your desktop that you have a lead and it is automatically databased according to advertisement, product/ service campaign so you can track seamlessly where your leads are coming from. This is my favorite feature, because thru out the day, my recontact due icon pops up to let me know I have a new lead, I just click on the new name in the recontact due and pops up the full record all filled in (no wasted time entering data), I click on the Skype button (I use Skype..but it could be your land line..etc.) and presto, I'm talking to my prospective client in less than 2 minutes from the time they opted for more information. and many times while they are on my site. Typing notes in the contact record along the way and engaging them immediately in my sales process.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Hypotheticals, Scenarios and Foresight

Emotional Intelligence in Business

How to Sell to the Price Driven Customer

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.