What Are The Pros & Cons Of Hosted VoIP Business Phones or On-Premise Telephone Systems?
Business phones have changed. Many now use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) solutions over landline phones. You may already know that this is a cloud-based solution that can save you money and increase your staff’s productivity. But did you know there are two types of business VoIP Phones? You can choose from On-Premises versions and Hosted VoIP services. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of each to help you decide which one is best.
Which One Is Easier To Set Up & Maintain?
On-Premises VoIP: These will be installed and managed by our staff, though you will own the equipment. You will have to pay for the cost of setting up the system and all of the hardware as well. There is a much higher out of pocket expense up front.
Since you own all the hardware, you can depreciate it as you do with other types of office equipment. It will be taxed as a capital expenditure (CAPEX) since you purchase the hardware and software upfront. Anything relating to your service from cabling to call and session management, voice quality, voicemail, and dialing features, are your team’s responsibility to maintain.
Hosted VoIP: Your IT service provider will handle everything. There are no setup or maintenance costs. You won’t need to rely on your staff to manage the system. Everything is installed and maintained by your provider.
Other than the physical phones, everything is provided as a service that you can write off as an operating expense. With Hosted VoIP models, the real costs come in the operating expenditures (OPEX) where you pay a monthly fee.
Is Security Better With On-Premises VoIP Or Hosted VoIP?
On-Premises VoIP: If you have IT staff on hand, this will be included in their overall IT security responsibilities. VoIP on-premises offers greater security control since your IT department will know your system’s security setup and intricacies.
Hosted VoIP: This is a better solution for small- to mid-sized businesses. You won’t have to worry because every aspect of your security will be managed and monitored with stringent measures. Your VoIP provider will be well-versed in the latest cyber threats and be able to close any security gaps.
Which One Provides The Most Control?
On-Premises VoIP: As with any on-premises solution, you’ll have more control here. Your IT team can be hands-on when it comes to the design and customization. You will have complete responsibility and control over the system. You can make whatever changes you need if you have onsite tech support. Larger enterprises usually go with on-premises VoIP for this reason.
Hosted VoIP: You will give up some control in exchange for the convenience this offers. If you need to make a change, your service provider can do this for you easily and quickly.
What About Scalability?
On-Premises VoIP: Like with control, your in-house IT staff can add or remove features according to your changing requirements. Expansions can be complicated, but isn’t this what IT staff is trained for?
Hosted VoIP: You won’t have to do a thing other than letting your VoIP provider know that you need to scale up or back. Because your VoIP solution is hosted by a provider that can scale services for all their customers, hosted platforms are easier to scale, both in terms of the time it takes and the capacity you can achieve. If you’re expecting many changes in the future, this will be the most cost-effective solution.
Is On-Premises Or Hosted VoIP Better For Your Business?
Most small-to-mid-sized businesses go with Hosted VoIP to save on capital expenditures, maintenance and for ease of scalability. Larger enterprises with onsite IT departments typically go with on-premise VoIP for the control that it provides.
But whatever solution you choose the team at Cyber Solutions can make the transition to VoIP service easy. Need to know more? Contact our VoIP team in Anderson, South Carolina.
In the meantime, make sure you and your staff stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the world of IT. Visit Our Blog regularly. We continuously post new content that will help you use technology to grow your business. Here are a few sample articles to get you going:
Wish That You Could Use Excel Like A Pro?
Excel Like A Pro Part III This is the final of a three-part series about using Microsoft Excel 2016. It will cover some of the more advanced topics. If you aren’t great with numbers, don’t worry. Excel does the work for you. With the 2016 version of Excel, Microsoft really upped its game.
DON’T GET HACKED – 10 STATS THAT WILL SURPRISE YOU & 5 WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS
At nearly $1 Trillion in earnings a year, hacking is now at record proportions. Your data is a valuable asset, not only to you but to criminals as well. Don’t get hacked. Here’s what you need to know. 1 in 3 Americans has been hacked.
Security – The Biggest Challenge For Companies.
According to a recent survey, around 29 percent of companies named security as the major problems in the upcoming years. The current percentage is a ten percent increase from last year’s survey results. While security is the biggest problem, efficiency and workflow was a close second, at 26 percent.
