Hosted Phone System: What Is It, Why Choose It, and the Main Benefits

Hosted Phone System: What Is It, Why Choose It, and the Main Benefits

Companies around the world have been using hosted phone systems to take care of their unified communication needs. Private Branch Exchange, or PBX phone systems allows for much more flexibility and control over offices’ communication channels than the traditional methods, such as landline telephone lines.

With legacy telecoms solutions, businesses have to deal with high installation costs, hundreds of meters of cables to be placed in and out of the office, as well as ever-increasing phone bills that can be altered and modified by the phone service provider without much warning on their side. Add to that the cost of maintenance and the need to purchase dozens of devices for all of your employees, and you’ll realize that using a legacy landline phone system is costing your firm quite a lot of money that could really be put to better use.

Not everyone is a communications expert, and as a business owner, you probably don’t have a whole lot of time to explore the intricacies of each phone system. This article will bring you a run-down of everything you need to know about using a hosted business phone system.

What Is a Hosted Phone System?

A hosted phone system, usually an Internet-based phone system, is one in which the servers and applications are located in a third-party data center rather than at your place of business. Currently, most mainstream hosted phone systems are based on cloud technology, which eliminates the need for expensive physical hardware and analog or ISDN phone lines on site. Instead, your phone provider or VoIP service provider helps to host the phone system.

Because the hosted phone system is also based on internet connections, it can be confusing to some people to tell the difference between a hosted phone system and a VoIP phone system. Actually, they both utilize the VoIP (Voice over the Internet Protocol) technology to facilitate phone calls. Read on the learn the difference between them.

VoIP Phone Systems

VoIP stands for “voice over internet protocol”, and the name actually explains this technology really well on the surface level. As opposed to traditional phone systems, VoIP phone systems convert voice signals into digital data in packets and send them through routers over the Internet.

VoIP is currently one of the most popular unified communications solutions for large companies and small businesses alike, mainly due to the cost savings it offers when compared with traditional solutions such as landline telecommunications, especially when making regular long-distance or international business calls. VoIP phone systems also provide many advanced communication functions and require less manual maintenance.

In order to carry out and receive phone calls using VoIP, your employees might not even need a dedicated device! While IP phones are recommended to achieve the best quality of calls and minimize the loss of data while transmitting, plenty of hosted phone systems providers also allow you to make and receive calls via so-called “softphones”. Softphones are applications installed on mobile phones or desktops in order to gain access to the company’s PBX system.

Here is a short video to help you understand what VoIP is in one minute.

Cloud-based Hosted Phone Systems

The cloud-based hosted phone system is also known as cloud PBX or virtual PBX. With the advance of cloud technology, users have more options to implement their phone systems. When opting for a hosted PBX system, your company will get all of the benefits of VoIP, but without the need to store sensitive data in the firm’s data centers.

Your corporate phone system is hosted off-site by your service provider. The key to understanding it is the word “hosted”. With this option, you won’t need to worry about owning or maintaining all of the necessary equipment on your office’s premises.

With a hosted PBX service, you’re going to get the same communications capabilities as with on-premises VoIP phone systems, without the hassle of maintaining expensive equipment. Most cloud-based phone services come with a single, stable monthly or yearly fee that covers all of your large or small business needs.

With everything being in the cloud, all your company needs to get started right away are a stable internet connection and SIP endpoints. Additionally, it provides a safety net in case of a power outage — the entire PBX is hosted in a remote location, meaning that it will remain untouched once the power issues are resolved.

Related  Cloud Phone System: What It Is, How It Works, and Why to Choose It

Benefits of a Hosted Phone System

How exactly can using a cloud-based phone solution in your office benefit your company? Well, besides the obvious aspect of saving thousands of dollars annually by moving over to a cheaper and more efficient service provider, there is a myriad of some of the less-talked-about pros of using hosted phone systems in an office environment.

How Does A Pbx Phone System Work

Easy, Effortless Setup

Setting up a PBX system is childishly easy, and in most cases, doesn’t even require the help of a professional to get started. Since all of your communications will be transmitted over the internet, no additional cables or hardware will be needed to get the hosted phone system going. It can all be done from your web browser, or a client application, depending on which provider you decide to go with. In case of any trouble, you can simply contact online customer support and get a rapid, helpful response.

No Extra Equipment Needed

With a virtual PBX system, you don’t need to spend any more of your hard-earned money on the hardware required to make it all work. You can use any of the items that you already have, whether they are traditional desk phones, VoIP-ready devices, mobile devices as well as laptops, and stationary computers. Not only does this save you a ton of money on office supplies, but also means that you can start implementing the new communications system from day one!

Extra Features

Many hosted service providers have been offering unified communication solutions, which means you can take advantage of not only cheaper and more efficient audio calls but also a number of more sophisticated features that traditional phone solutions just don’t have the capacity for. Below are some that hit the most popular list.

  • Video Conferencing
  • Instant Messaging
  • Presence
  • Voicemail to Email Transcription
  • CRM Integration

Greater Scalability and Flexibility

Communication needs may fluctuate, especially for start-up firms and industries with busy seasons, such as retail, tourism, hospitality, and entertainment. Since most hosted phone services are charged on a per-user basis, pay-as-you-grow pricing model, it becomes easier for these companies to allocate expenses more effectively. It takes only a day or a few days to add or reduce users.

Make the Switch to a Hosted Phone System

With Yeastar Cloud PBX, all you need is a VoIP-enabled phone/softphone and you are ready to go. Your service provider performs all updates and maintenance to keep the system up to date. Yeastar Cloud PBX offers a comprehensive suite of telephony features, such as Linkus softphone, IVR, call queue, voicemail, and many more.

Yeastar Cloud PBX can be tailored to your business’s needs, regardless of its size. New users can be added at any time as needed. Most service providers charge on a simple per-user basis so that you only pay for what you need and have a business phone system that grows with you.

On top of that, one of the main advantages of our hosted PBX service is the fact that it’s geographically flexible, which comes in handy especially when your company operates in multiple locations or you have a selection of teleworkers.

Without the need for enlisting another provider’s services or any other workarounds, dispersed employees can be connected within a single PBX system as the headquarters, allowing you to coordinate with branches abroad quicker and easier than ever before!

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User Login

Instantaneously receive user login credentials via email once the extension has been deployed by the adminstrator.

Log in conveniently via any web browser for access to the user portal.

Integrations

Integrate various CRM software for better customer service and satisfaction.

Enable transcription of audio messages into text with integration of third-party transcription service.

Enable API for integration with various third-party integrations for advanced performance such as call center and hotel reception services.

System

Provision email SMTP and template settings for event notifications to be sent out.

Manage storage allocation and duration of various types of data being stored on the PBX.

Determine the types of event notifications to be sent out, and the parties receiving them.

IVR

Add various audio voice prompts to be played according to different call scenarios.

Add voice prompts on multiple levels for more effecient and precise inbound call routing.

Voicemail

Customize default voicemail settings for each user extension.

Add various voicemail messages for allocation to different call scenarios and users.

Provision specific rules to how voicemail messages are played over the PBX system for better caller experience.

Reports and CDR

All call log activities are stored, with the option of having audio conversations recorded by default or for specific extensions.

Use intuitive visual call reports, to check various call statistics over extensions, trunks, queues, ring groups, and more.

Call reports can be viewed and downloaded directly from the PBX, or scheduled to be sent via email to respective parties.

Security

Restrict a general group or specific IP addresses to prevent unauthorized access to your PBX.

Limit the number of otbound calls users are allowed to make within a time period to protect against toll fraud.

Restrict certain country codes for outbound calls either company-wide or on certain extensions.

User Login

Determine extension ranges for different functions.

Define use of different voice prompts depending on call scenarios or intended function.

Provision basic and advanced SIP settings to be used on the PBX.

Recordings

Record all calls made on specified trunks, including inbound and outbound calls.

Recordings

Record all calls made on specified extensions, conferences, or call queues.

Paging and Intercom

Create different types of paging and intercom broadcast groups for selected extensions.

Set a time schedule to automatically start your broadcast.

Maintenance

Check for and download firmware upgrades to ensure that your PBX is always up-to-date.

Perform back-ups to prevent data and settings from getting lost.

Perform troubleshooting on your own to debug.

Conference

Pre-set conference settings and dial-in passwords for security, and allow internal users to send conference invites to external parties.

Speed Dial

Create multiple speed dial numbers to respective external numbers frequently used for outgoing calls.

Speed dial is activated when the set prefix (default or customized) is dialed.

Ring Group

Create multiple ring groups and determine custom ring strategies and failover settings for each.

Call Queue

Create different call queues with specific ring strategies and failover settings.

Static agents permanently answer calls in queue, while dynamic agents can log in and out. Allocate different extensions to each group.

Determine what actions are to be allowed for Mangers or Agents to manage on the Queue Panel.

Call Control

Have calls received on specific SIP trunks routed to designated extensions or destinations within the PBX.

Set-up dial patterns so that outbound calls are routed to their intended destinations.

Determine how calls are routed and received at different times of a day.

Contacts

Store, retrieve, and share company contact details easily on your PBX.

Organize company contacts into dedicated phonebooks and determine accessibility rights to extension groups for each.

Bulk import a list of contacts instead of having to key details in individually.

Role and Client Permission

Pre-defined user roles within the PBX are conveniently available for allocation, or create your own set of permissions.

Restrict users from viewing specific extensions, departments, or extension groups with Extension Visibility.

Allow or resrict specific users from managing or viewing certain company contacts

Auto Provision

Pre-defined setting parameters specific to respective IP phone models are conveniently available for easy set-up.

IP Phones can be quickly provisioned to your Yeastar PBX with just the pre-defined template and device MAC address.

Trunks

Register multiple SIP trunks on a single PBX as needed.

Different types of trunks can be created, Caller ID can be customized.

Extensions

View, deploy, add, and remove user extensions within your PBX system.

Configure default call and user settings for individual extensions.

Customize allocation of user extensions to specific ring groups.

Portal Login Page

Receive your administrator log-in credentials and set-up guide via email.

Log-in on any web-browser to get started with PBX set-up.

Installation Wizard will guide you through basic configurations.

User Login

Access all company contacts made available to you by the administrator.

Create your own personal contacts list for easy reference and dialing.

Bulk import contact details for convenient data entry.

User Login

Access and manage user settings for softphone application and voicemail.

Manage call routing and presence status for your individual extension.

Retrieve or download your personal call logs and recordings.

User Login

Receive your log-in credentials and set-up guide via email, sent by your admin.

Log-in on any web-browser to get started with PBX set-up.

Configure contacts and personal settings from the web portal.

Auto Provision

Add, remove, or modify IP phone settings from your web interface.

Upgrade IP phone firmware conveniently from your PBX.

Upload various default setting parameters specific to respective IP phone models for greater convenience during set-up.

Contacts

Store, retrieve, and share company contact details easily on your PBX.

Have detailed contact information for your vendors and clients conveniently stored .

Bulk add a list of contacts instead of having to key details in individually.

PBX Monitor

Monitor the status extensions, whether they aren idle, in use, or unavailable.

Know whether your SIP Trunk running properly, or experiencing problems.

Monitor the number of call conferences currently running on your PBX, and their individual durations.

Maintenance

Check for and download firmware upgrades to ensure that your PBX is always up-to-date.

Perform back-ups to prevent data and settings from getting lost.

Perform troubleshooting on your own to debug.

Call Detailed Report

All call log activities are stored, with the option of having audio conversations recorded by default or for specific extensions.

Filter by date, time, or extension number to retrieve specific call logs or recordings

Playback call recordings directly from the PBX or download to store externally.

Event Center

Determine what events and logs are to be recorded and/or have notifications sent.

Specify particular notifications to be sent to respective authorized personnel.

User Permission

Set up vaious groups of users for allocation to certain sets of access rules.

Determine what features a certain group of extensions can or cannot access.

Determine if users can access, play-back, or download call logs and recordings from the pbx.

Security

Restrict a general group or specific IP addresses to prevent unauthorized access to your PBX.

Determine specific the range of SIP ports for connection between your PBX and endpoints.

Restrict country codes for outbound calls either company-wide or on certain extensions.

Voice Prompt

Upload and designate customised audio recordings at multiple levels of a call journey.

Upload recorded music to fill the silence that would be heard by callers on hold.

Upload customised voice prompts to create a professional call experience.

General

Customize general call preferences either company-wide or for individual extensions.

Set-up feature dial codes for convenient user navigation to specific call features.

Determine how voicemails are retrieved, and also upload custom voicemail recordings.

Call Features

Add multiple automated responses to be played at different phases of a call journey.

Designate specific extensions to ring concurrently based on an external caller's dial pattern.

Customize messages and waiting times to keep external callers engaged when put on hold.

Call Control

Have calls received on specific SIP trunks routed to designated extensions within the PBX.

Set-up dial patterns so that outbound calls are routed to their intended destinations.

Determine how calls are routed and received at different times of a day.

Trunks

Register multiple SIP trunks on a single PBX as needed.

Provision SIP trunk settings and dedicate them to particular extensions.

Bulk add DDIs on each SIP trunk, for allocation to an individual or groups of extensions.

Extensions

View, deploy, add, and remove user extensions within your PBX system.

Allocate and deploy specific extension numbers to respective users via email.

Set-up default ring and presence status settings for individual users.

Deal One View

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

Deal One View

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

Deal One View

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

View cases created for a Deal in One View.