or most businesses, a telephone system consists of one or more pieces of equipment, housed at their business
locations, that connects their business to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Often, this Private Branch Exchange (PBX), Key System or other premise-based solution requires a sizable investment in hardware as well as ongoing maintenance and upgrade fees. Today, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology is allowing small businesses to secure the features and functionality of a sophisticated PBX phone system for a fraction of the cost by using the Internet (instead of the PSTN) to carry voice traffic just as it does data traffic. Recently, telecommunications research and consulting firm Savatar asked over 500 small to medium sized business owners what types of problems they had with their current phone system. The problems most often cited include: It’s too difficult to make a
routine Move/Add/Change to the phone system. The current system lacks
features that are critical to business productivity, and it costs too much to add them. It is difficult to manage the
system across multiple office locations, and it costs too much to expand them. VoIP telephony answers the call for an affordable, robust and easy to manage phone system with a managed service offering known as Hosted IP-PBX. This solution makes all of the traditional PBX features available to a customer while a VoIP service provider owns, hosts, manages and updates the equipment. Hosted IP-PBX service offers many advantages including:
– With no key system or PBX to purchase there is no large capital expenditure needed.
– Monthly voice and data charges are usually calculated on a per telephone basis. If you have 50 employees each with a telephone on their desk, your monthly operating cost will be 50 times a set fee.
– Because the VoIP service provider owns the equipment, they are responsible for all the costs associated with equipment and software upgrades.
– The VoIP service provider is responsible for managing the equipment. Routine changes like adding a new person to the system or changing an extension number can be done by the customer via a simple web interface.
With a Hosted IP-PBX service, smaller businesses can now duplicate the same calling features normally found in the big PBX phone systems of large enterprises simply by contracting with a provider that hosts the technology off-site. “The TCO, or Total Cost of Ownership, is really the primary reason that people adopt a hosted model instead of a do-it-yourself model,” says David Immethun, senior director of sales at 8x8, Inc., provider of the Packet8 Virtual Office Hosted IP-PBX. Services such as Packet8 Virtual Office completely eliminate the headaches of owning and
maintaining telecom equipment by offering a model that includes full PBX features, unlimited local and long distance calling, complete service support and user adminis-tration privileges and controls. With Virtual Office, equipment costs amount to around $100 per user for a Packet8 hands-free business class telephone and Broadband Phone Adapter. A monthly service fee of $49.99 per extension covers unlimited local and long distance calling in the United States, Canada and eight international countries as well as all service configuration and counseling, administration, changes, upgrades, tech support and complete web-based administration system controls. Features such as Auto-Attendant, Music On Hold, Extension Dialing, Conference Bridges, Business-Class Voicemail,
Caller-ID with Name, Call Waiting, Call Transfer, 3-Way Calling, Call Forwarding, Do Not Disturb, Distinctive Ringing, Hunt Groups, Ring
every Virtual Office calling plan. Hosted IP-PBX services like Virtual Office can also help businesses eliminate the overhead cost associated with brick and mortar buildings since employees may work from any location equipped with a high-speed Internet connection. “Probably the number one feature that interests an SMB is multi-site support,” says 8x8’s Immethun. “Normally, multi-site support is very expensive to buy and very complex to administer — especially when you add applications such as voicemail, an auto attendant or hunt groups. With our Packet8 Virtual Office, the location of the ‘site’ is irrelevant and all features are included.” IP-based telephony offers numerous cost benefits and advanced features that can help your business stay competitive. Mention Southwest and get your first month of service free. Offer expires June 30, 2008.
How VoIP Phone Service Can Save Your Business a Bundle
The Switch to VoIP
Save your company a bundle of money (and wires) by switching to Packet8 Virtual Office
www.Packet8.net | 866.848.3109 toll-free
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