As we move forward with our sales of our new phone systems (Hosted PBX) I’m often asked, “Why should I consider going with a hosted system versus a traditional system like I have today?”
 
I guess I should start by saying, “Maybe you shouldn’t.” Hosted services (also known as cloud services) are the buzz right now. For those of you who are in charge of your company’s IT services, it is being pushed from every direction. You can’t pick up a trade magazine or read about one of your vendors without hearing about the “cloud” and how it is going to revolutionize the way you do business. It seems like when the media gets hold of something and starts pushing it, it snowballs and every company feels like they need to have the newest service out there or they are going to be left behind. And there is good in that, because it drives innovation and causes disruption in the market place. Old ways are questioned and new solutions come about as a result.
 
Socket’s hosted or cloud-based phone systems do offer some advantages over a traditional system, but they aren’t the right fit for every company. Some of the most compelling reasons our customers give for going with a hosted system are:

• We don’t have the IT staff to handle moves/adds/changes, and we’re paying high rates to have a PBX vendor come on site every time we want to make a change.

• We have remote workers, and we want them to be a part of our system – with dialers, apps for their smartphones, remote access to directories, extension dialing, etc. We want them to be able to work from remote locations as if they’re sitting down the hall from their fellow employees.

• Our business is growing and changing, and we don’t want to be locked into a large capital investment. We need to be flexible for change and growth as we add or reduce sites or change the responsibilities of our staff.

• We want access to all the features. For my small/medium business, the cost to go with a full-blown premise-based system that has all the bells and whistles is just out of our budget. With a hosted solution, we can add features per seat, without having to “forklift” in a new system. We can add features (like call recording) for one or all of our agents. Or we can set up a small call queue for times when things get busy. We like the idea of buying a few seats that we can build on as we grow.

Of course, these aren’t all the reasons to go with a hosted system, but they’re the ones we hear most often.
 
Do they sound familiar? If so, a seat in the cloud may be right for you. Give us a call to learn more.
 
We’ll keep you posted on the ongoing changes in the hosted marketplace!