When embarking on the road down VoIP communication, there are many people to tell you how cheap calls are, how there are no investment costs, and all the services are very cheap with VoIP services. While it is definitely possible to save money with VoIP, it’s also possible to spend comparable or greater amounts than a POTS (plain old telephone system).
Hosted VoIP is generally the way which works out cheapest for smaller businesses. This is where the servers and PBX systems are managed by a third party VoIP provider. This service is then normally accessed via a softphone on a computer network using a headset or IP phone over an internet connection. The advantage of this include; most companies already have a computer network with internet access, so all that is required is for a monthly subscription to a VoIP provider. And since the system is set up via an internet connection, location isn’t a factor, making it very easy for people to access the VoIP service from home or a mobile device, a service which often costs more on other systems.
Another advantage of such systems is, while you pay a monthly upkeep for the service, the hosting company will handle all system upgrades, maintenance of the system and redundancy systems, which aside from the setup is one of the largest costs of hosting your own VoIP server. And since the company providing the hosting service should have a large amount of equipment available above and beyond your needs, it’s normally possible to change contracts very easily to increase the number of lines required, or to add new services such as conference calling (though many VoIP providers may offer such services included in the price), which is a far cheaper option than replacing a whole PBX system.
Hosted services may become less viable for a business when the requirements of the telecoms system reach a certain point. Since many providers charge extra for services such as conference calling, when using multiple services, the monthly costs could quickly add up. Also for large numbers of users you could run into similar issues where the cost per person becomes comparable to hosting your own system. Generally at around 100 phone users it becomes viable to look at premises maintained VoIP systems, however hosted systems may still work out cheaper and more convenient.
As with most things, it helps to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve, what you need to achieve, and what else might be beneficial to your business. Even if you’re not sure, it’s worth contacting somebody to see what services might be available for your business.
The Author works for a company who specialise in hosted phone systems, hosted VoIP and VoIP Solutions