Competition from hosted phone solutions has really put a dent in the local appliance side of business phone systems for the last few years. While this has not affected us greatly (being a technology integrator, we install both) we have noticed that our customers are being negatively affected by the grand promises of these systems and we would like to point out some of the biggest differences in the two technologies that we see in the field.
Hosted:
- Generally cheaper to install but requires a monthly payment to use
- VERY sensitive to internet service quality and general network quality
- More susceptible to outages
- Great for very small offices or temporary offices that need phones but not permanently
- For most, you never own the equipment
- When scaled, the monthly fees can get astronomically high
- Generally lacking in some major features (voicemail and auto attendants)
Local Appliance:
- Much higher up front install cost
- Equipment is owned after it is bought
- Full feature set is available to the customer
- Generally more resistant to outages (by virtue of using more stable back ends)
- Scaling is very linear from tiny install to huge install
- Cheap cost to run and maintain after initial investment
- System has no configuration limits and can be set up exactly how the customer wants
Overall, it is a matter of choosing the system that works best for you. We are finding that most customers are excited to avoid the high install cost only to find that the system lacks the features they were initially looking for in the system. For some customers that only need two phones, hosted makes the most sense. If you are unsure what system would work best for you give us a call. As a full service technology solutions integrator, we can design, install, and maintain any system that you choose.