What is Hosted VoIP?
(See what VoIP is: http://limitlesstechnology.com/voip-phones)
Now that you have a working understanding of VoIP and what it can do for your business, you need to know the second part of the story, which is how you can get VoIP. There are several approaches you can take, but the two most popular are premises-based and network-based. Without getting technical, they are defined as follows:
For micro/small and medium sized businesses, our view is that hosted VoIP is the best solution
Premises Based VoIP:
The business owns and operates their telephony system, which is usually a PBX or a more updated IP PBX for larger businesses, or a Key System for smaller businesses. This requires a capital investment in hardware, and internal IT resources to manage it.
Network Based VoIP:
This is the outsourced model, better suited for smaller businesses that lack IT resources and/or do not wish to make a capital investment in owning a telephony system. There are several variations of this model, with hosted VoIP being one of them.
For micro/small and medium sized businesses, our view is that hosted VoIP is the best solution. In a hosted model, the business only needs to make a nominal investment in telephone sets that are compatible with VoIP, and does not have to worry about operating, maintaining or upgrading their network to support VoIP. It really offers the best of both worlds by being a cost effective way to get PBX-caliber features without the risk or challenges of managing their network. The only real trade-off is giving up control and ownership over the telephone system, and for micro businesses, there is much more to gain than at stake in the first place.
