Communication technology is moving at the speed of light, but there are still some traditional ways of communicating that people are clinging to more than others. Traditional PBX phone systems are one of them, despite the introduction of hosted cloud communication systems around 20 years ago.
Many are concerned that hosted telephony is still in its infancy and isn’t a fully-developed offering yet. But in reality, the cloud is here and worldwide investment is phenomenal. So much so that more than 3 in 4 businesses in the UK are using the cloud today. It is predicted over 60% of businesses will be using the cloud for ALL their IT and communications in the foreseeable future. Here’s Commercial Director Jamie Lake with his views on hosted telephony, it’s benefits and what makes us different …
“Since BT’s announcement to switch-off of ISDN lines in 2025 and no longer selling ISDN lines as of 2020, there’s never been a better time to think about future proofing your business. When business owners and decision makers come to me for advice on the best way to do this, my answer is usually the same. Hosted Telephony.
I know what you’re thinking, ‘ALWAYS?’. The truth is, there are always exceptions to the rule. For some businesses like airports or hotels that have a lot of extensions but don’t use them all of the time, VoIP isn’t a cost-effective option. In this case, we would recommend SIP (Session initiation Protocol) Trunks. This is an internet-based version of older technology; like ISDN. SIP Trunks are cheaper and far more scalable than their older ISDN counterparts but less complex than VoIP, so they work better for these types of businesses.
but most of the time, VoIP is the preferred go to. That’s because the cloud really is the future and if you don’t adopt it now, there’ll come a point when you have to. My view is sooner rather than later.
Some of you may be sat there scratching your head, unsure of what hosted telephony really is. Let me help with that. In simple terms, Hosted Telephony is a software-based telephone system that operates on a server in a data centre rather than on site. It is also connected to via the internet as opposed to traditional ‘telephone lines’.
So what? Well, not only does it do away with expensive hardware maintenance, upgrades and engineering costs, it also offers a whole host of benefits that can’t be ignored.”
Benefits of Hosted Telephony
Scalability
You can add users as the business grows without having to pay for expensive new hardware. New offices can be connected almost instantly, meaning growth is not hindered by new infrastructure roll-out dates.
Cost Effective
With Hosted, the capital outlay is significantly reduced and you pay a monthly set cost which is easy to plan for. It also reduces costs compared to ISDN lines and usually offers inclusive calls to UK local, National & Mobile numbers. Plus all maintenance costs lie with the supplier.
Disaster Recovery
Hosted Telephony allows alternative routing in the event of an outage. So if the business internet is down, calls can be diverted to mobiles in a matter of minutes. If used in conjunction with a solution such as FMC, these diverts can be pre-configured for an immediate fail-over.
Flexibility
Hosted Telephony allows users to work from anywhere there is an internet connection. So you can get the most from your employees by allowing them to work from home, the coffee shop or at customer sites.
Security & Resiliency
Hosted telephony offers a range of security & resiliency measures including: fully redundant network infrastructure at each of our data centre locations, integration to ITSPA for real time monitoring and blacklisting of known fraudulent numbers and IP addresses, diverse resilient links from multiple carriers, encryption of call recordings, the list goes on.
“At the moment, I can only see one way the communication industry is heading and that’s hosted. As mentioned, the ISDN switch-off will most likely be the key for many making the switch. But I also think mobiles and the drive for mobility will give companies the push too.
Leaving behind the musty old PBX system and making way for feature-rich hosted that offers better mobility and collaboration will be key to a lot of businesses success over the next 2 years or so. I expect the sooner companies realise this (and a lot have already), the sooner we will see full adoption of hosted telephony systems.”
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