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Hosted PBX vs. Owned PBX vs. SIP Trunking

Benefits of a hosted PBX service vs. customer owned PBX with maintenance agreement vs. SIP trunking

For small business users hosted (also called Hosted PBX or Virtual PBX) or managed VoIP services are a cost effective way to utilize high quality business VoIP.  These options enable the SME (small to medium enterprise) to keep operating expenses down, helping to fuel more money back into a growing business. Here is the information you need to make an informed decision regarding a business telephone system.

Hosted PBX

Hosted PBX phone service offers businesses all the advantages of utilizing VoIP without the large initial investment needed to purchase your own network equipment. 

• Equipment resides with the provider.  The hosted PBX service provider can quickly and easily resolve service problems remotely.
• Hosted services enable you to take advantage of redundancy and backup that would be costly to maintain on premise.
• Purchase and lease phones only as needed.  Your system can grow with your future needs, just add phones.
• System updates and enhancements are taken care of automatically by the hosted PBX service provider. 
• Hosted PBX service  providers offer support as needed, you don’t need staff to support your service

Managed PBX

Managed PBX service agreements enable you to outsource the management of your PBX system.  For a monthly charge, you can get a fully managed system solution. 

• One call for all your needs.  Managed services allow you to combine maintenance of your voice and data solutions.
• Service problems are handled remotely.  In cases where a technician is required to come to your location, the managed services provider is responsible for clearing the trouble start to finish. 
• Managed services can provide statistics and reports necessary for your business.
• Managed services typically charge on a per line basis, making this a good choice for small businesses.
• Managed service providers normally assign a specific service specialist to your account.  This representative is responsible to oversee your account and make sure your system is properly maintained and serviced.

SIP Trunking

SIP trunking provides true converged voice and data onto common IP connections.  Interface to SIP trunks eliminates the need for media gateway devices to interface IP voice to PSTN (public switched telephone network).

• Less customer premise equipment necessary to connect to PSTN
• Offers scalability, so that as the company grows, the necessary infrastructure is already in place
• Eliminates the need for traditional voice circuits.
• Utilizes IP connections and either a private network or the public Internet for infrastructure.
• SIP trunks can support high quality advanced multimedia services such as videoconferencing and unified messaging.
• Flexibility to use multiple service providers based on rates and time of day.

Visit our IP PBX section to find and compare PBX providers.

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