How to pick the best hosted PBX service
Once you have the basics about hosted (sometimes called virtual) PBX under your belt, you will need to answer a few questions about your business in order to start evaluating providers. It is not absolutely necessary that you have precise answers to each of these questions; however, answering them in advance will help you better evaluate hosted PBX vendors.
1. How many phone lines does your business have currently, including toll-free numbers, and how will this change in the future?
2. How many offices do you have and how many employees per office?
3. What is your average call volume, both inbound and outbound?
4. How much has phone service cost your business per month for the last year?
5. How much are you paying in long-distance calls each month?
6. What is the total cost of leasing phone equipment?
7. What is the total cost of conferencing bridges, auto attendants and any other software costs?
Here are the factors to consider when picking a hosted PBX provider:
* Provider’s dependability: What has been the provider’s scheduled and unscheduled downtime in the last few months?
* Who owns the phone number? As a business owner, you want to make sure that you own your phone numbers, should you ever decide you want to make a change
* Does the provider own the technology, or is it licensed through a third party? Providers who have developed or own the technology will usually be quicker to react to your needs and to make improvements.
* How many different plans does the provider offer and how many extensions come with each plan? You shouldn’t be paying for more horsepower than you really need.
* Does the provider require a contract and if so, how long?
* What features are offered as part of each plan, and which ones are most important to you?
* Is voice-driven IVR (interactive voice response) one of the available features?
* Finally, what is the setup cost and the ongoing monthly cost?