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Hosted PBX vs Software PBX

By John Kinskey

A distinguishing factor of a hosted PBX system from conventional systems is the lack of any onsite equipments. In a hosted system, the functionalities of a standard PBX system are provided as a service through a dedicated connection. This kind of PBX system is therefore affordable. Any small businesses can get a sophisticated phone system with all the features found in expensive PBX systems, but at a fraction of the cost.

There are service providers who claim to provide hosted PBX systems. However, many of these systems turn out to be PBX systems implemented through software. This kind of phone system cannot be termed as hosted, since they function in the premises itself. The only difference lies in the absence of any hardware elements. All the functionalities are implemented through software. This kind of PBX system is technically a premise based system, and not hosted.

Software PBX system are implemented using a dedicated PC or server machine. All though it may contain all the functionalities of a conventional phone system, it will not contain the advanced features of a hosted system such as remote extensions, which is implemented through find me follow me call forwarding. Additionally, through a hosted PBX one can get features such as voicemail, fax mail, and auto attendants. Since a high bandwidth connection is implemented a company can get as many extensions as it requires. Furthermore, it can seem to operate from different locations, owing to the virtual nature of hosted PBX system. A software PBX cannot provide such kind of physical independence. Similarly, it lacks the disaster recovery feature, which can be easily implemented through a hosted PBX system.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, a leading provider of Business phone systems (hosted/virtual). Our systems come with voicemail, fax mail, automated attendants, and find me follow me call forwarding. Please visit us at www.messagingservice.com.

John K represents AccessDirect, a leading provider of PBX phone systems for SOHO industries and Enterprises.

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