By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor

The technology advancements in telecommunications and computing have led to a market able to easily support the transition from the traditional office to the virtual office. While this deployment strategy is proving viable for a number of companies, there are still others that prefer the physical office environment that allows for regular customer interaction. Fortunately, such an environment does not require the forfeit of key advancements that can cut communications costs.

A number of small and medium businesses are finding that the integration of hosted phone service solutions provides many of the same benefits afforded in the virtual office environment, without demanding a complete change to office deployment. Plus, for those organizations needing to replace a legacy PBX (News - Alert), the upfront capital required with an in-house upgrade can stretch the budget beyond capacity. A hosted phone service can deliver all of the same benefits, without the sticker shock.

Price alone is not enough to warrant a drastic change in communications, however. This critical channel for connecting with the client base must be preserved through quality solutions. The cloud-based service must be able to motive the decision maker to shift the direction on strategy with a focus on improved efficiencies, added functionality and the user experience. For a business seeking to make this critical decision, Phone.com (News - Alert) has a few elements to consider.

According to the company’s recent blog post, there are a number of specific benefits to a cloud-based phone service, including the fact that one number can make or receive as many calls as there are phones. A cloud-based solution also provides the users with the ability to control the behavior of their phone number. The number is no longer connected to a device and with the virtual office option from Phone.com, the user simply logs in to the control panel to dictate where the number will ring or set advanced rules.

At the same time, the cloud-based service also promises the delivery of an easy signup process, an easy-to-use interface, self-setup and a personalized approach to customer care. While these attributes alone won’t win new business, they are important value-adds in an industry where service really is everything for the vendor hoping to win the new business.

Whether a business operates a virtual office or a traditional environment, the technologies offered by Phone.com to streamline communications and control costs may be of interest. All calls supported by Phone.com are automatically routed according to customized settings. Calls can be sent to menus, a computer, voicemail, custom greetings and much more. Setup and launch are relatively simple – allowing the business owner to focus on their communication and not the supported technology.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Miami 2013, Jan 29- Feb. 1 in Miami, Florida.  Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.