Hosted and Managed PBX

Dear Metro,

Can you tell me the benefits of a hosted and a managed PBX? We are considering a PBX for our growing business in Charlotte and aren't sure which way to go.

Charlie S. Charlotte

Dear Charlie,

Thank you for your question. A PBX (Private Branch Exchange) is a private telephone network for businesses. Users of the PBX share outside lines for making telephone calls outside of the PBX primarily to reduce the total number of telephone lines they need to lease from the telephone company--which reduces a company's expenses.

If you are looking for VoIP, your choices are: managed, hosted or on-premise systems. You asked about managed and hosted--which are similar:

Managed VoIP
With managed-VoIP services, a third-party vendor provides equipment, software, operations facilities and technical support. The benefits are having an IP-enabled phone system without the costs, risks, etc of a VoIP solution. With managed VoIP is you can run an effective business phone system with limited or no internal IT resources.

Pros on the managed PBX include 24/7 support, faster time-to-market, a potentially aggressive product-development cycle, low up-front cost and predictable monthly operating expenses.

Hosted VoIP
Hosted-VoIP services rely on a service provider’s hosted-PBX equipment to route a company’s voice and data traffic. Calls are routed over the PSTN (public switched telephone network) to the hosted-PBX system.

This method is also best suited for small and medium-size businesses with limited IT resources and budget.

Pros of the Hosted PBX include the adaptability to accommodate the fluctuating needs of a growing business, or even the seasonal peaks and economic swings. Also, the seamless integration with most legacy systems is a plus. With hosted PBX there is no need to purchase VoIP hardware or software , and 24/7 support and monitoring by trained IT staff is included.

To determine if managed or hosted PBX is right for your company, please give us a call at 1.866.738.1662.

Metro
Converged Network Services Group