As Internet technology becomes faster and more powerful, the applications of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services become more numerous and effective. While VoIP was criticized as being slow and unreliable in the past, this was largely due to the fact that high-speed Internet was not widely available to most businesses. Small businesses are in an especially good position to take advantage of hosted VoIP services, and as Matthew Guise points out in a recent piece in SmallBusinessUK.com, the biggest advantage small businesses hold over their competitors is agility – which hosted VoIP takes direct advantage of.
Hosted VoIP works by providing a business with remote access to a Private Branch Exchange (PBX (News - Alert)) that is owned and operated by the service provider, which businesses pay a small monthly fee to access. While it may appear that purchasing a PBX directly will save more money in the long run, this is not the case.
Not only does a PBX cost thousands of dollars for an initial investment and installation, but performing routine maintenance and hiring the IT staff to make sure it stays running smoothly almost always ends up costing more. Since hosted PBX services cost as little as $10 per month per line for unlimited nationwide calling, it seems like a no-brainer for small businesses that only need a few lines.
Scalability is also an important factor for small businesses, which expand and contract regularly. Most hosted VoIP providers allow users to simply log into a convenient Web portal to add or remove phone lines as needed.
Since hosted VoIP is done over the Internet, it's also completely free of any tethers to location, allowing small businesses to move wherever they need to without a hassle. Ultimately, small businesses that are looking to either cut down on their existing costs or upgrade to a more professional phone system face the same piece of advice: consider using a hosted VoIP phone system for a better phone service at a lower price.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson
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