Selecting a Business Phone Service - Many Affordable Ways to Go

The phone service that a company uses is as critical to a business as the product it is offering. How many times (unfortunately) have you had to call the company of a product that you have bought for technical or support help? What about intra-office communication, including having conference calls with a team in another city (or country for that matter)? The telephone system is more important then you may think. That is why it is absolutely critical to choose a telephone service that is the best fit for your business and its unique needs.
The world of business telephony is very large and complex, with hundreds of companies, both small and large, offering very different solutions. You can buy a traditional PBX unit and have it in-house, purchase an IP PBX and rely on your company's data connection to handle phone calls, or choose a Hosted PBX solution, where the provider houses the equipment in another location, and you set up and manage features via a web interface. With these drastically different choices, it is important to know the attributes of each to choose the one that best complements your company.
PBXes
PBX units have been the standard, 'go-to' business phone service solution when companies need to set up a phone system. A PBX is the central hub of an office phone network, linking all of the phones in the office together and to the PSTN network. It also allows for an assortment of calling features such as extension-to-extension dialing, call transferring and auto-attendants. However, PBXes are very expensive, and need to be housed in the office itself. An IT specialist is needed to manage and operate them, and making any changes can be time-consuming and complex.
PBXes are the best solution for large businesses that have a workforce that is working from a central location. These businesses can afford the high cost of purchasing and maintaining the PBX, and having the unit in the same location as the employees who are using it is useful.
IP PBXes
IP PBXes are similar to traditional PBX phone systems, the difference being they use VoIP to conduct phone calls. There is still a centralized unit that connects all phones to each other and needs to be housed in the office. However, IP PBXes support VoIP, which grants companies all of the associated benefits. Traditional phone devices can be used, along with newer IP phones.
The presence of VoIP allows for greater flexibility and lower costs when compared to traditional PBXes. However, their high cost also prohibits smaller businesses from using them.
Hosted PBX or Virtual PBX
Hosted PBXes are new to the market, yet they are the most innovative in leveling the playing field for small and large businesses. These providers offer drastically cheaper prices for the same assortment of features, allowing businesses of any size to employ a professional telephone service. Hosted PBXes rely on VoIP. This eliminates the need for separate phone lines in your office, since the data connection is used to conduct phone calls. VoIP calls are cheap, and create useful features, like voicemail-to-email. On the other hand, only IP phones can be used with this service.
Hosted PBX providers also house and manage the PBX equipment themselves. Customers who sign up for the service can set up features like voice mailboxes and auto attendants via a web interface, without having to go to the PBX itself. This grants an unparalleled degree of flexibility, allowing businesses to scale up or down as needed, without calling on a specialist. It also gets rid of the headaches of maintaining a bulky and complex piece of equipment, which is a plus for any business!
These factors drive down the cost of operating an enterprise-class phone service. Hosted PBXes are ideal for small and medium-sized businesses that have workforces spread out over many locations (such as if some employees work from home). Even though they are in different locations, the hosted PBX will connect them all as if they are in one office space, allowing the company to present a single and united face to the public. Hosted PBXes also give smaller businesses access to corporate telephony features due to its low operating costs, and without having to invest in an expensive unit.