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Small and medium-sized businesses require telephone systems to respond to customers, organize teams and keep the work going. Nonetheless, traditional phone systems might need physical hardware, maintenance and extra manpower whenever an organization grows. One of them is hosted telephony: the phone platform is managed by a service provider, and the employees use desk phones, computers or mobile applications. This can make the management of business calling between a single office and multiple offices or remote work teams easier.
Hosted phone system benefits lie in the choice of the right features and planning the network, and not simply accepting calls over the Internet. UK businesses have to check legacy line connections before migration. This guide explains the operation of hosted telephony, where it can be used by SMEs, which technical aspects are important and how to evaluate a provider before entering into an agreement.
Hosted telephony is a telephony service that is run on a platform by a third party. The hosted system is used by a business to offer extensions, call routing, voicemail and other calling services, rather than having a private branch exchange (PBX) in the office.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a digital data service that transmits voice over an IP network and is utilized by numerous services. The employees are connected through IP desk phones, desktop applications or mobile applications. The administrators are normally able to administer users and call settings via an online portal.
Traditional telephone systems may require PBX equipment, setup and upkeep. It reduces the amount of physical equipment needed as the provider operates the central platform. Softphone applications can also be used to minimize the purchase of handsets.
Compare setup costs, licences, call allowances, support costs and term of contract with current costs. It might not always be cheaper. The total cost matters more than the monthly price. Look closely at whether taxes, international calls, premium numbers or extra usage outside your plan are charged separately. Always ask for a written quote that includes the number of users and how many calls you expect to make.
When a business hires employees or opens a new office, the phone system may need to change. Hosted phone systems let administrators add users, extend and modify call rules using a web portal. Extra user charges, numbers and advanced functions. Enquire about the possibility of modifying licences with the fluctuation of staffing requirements.
Office phone employees can use a business number, even when at home or visiting customers, using a computer or supported mobile app. Depending on the service, colleagues are able to transfer calls, check voicemail and share extensions across locations.
Regular business hours and mobility. The accounts of employees must be secure and well connected and employees must not share passwords.
Callers are directed to sales, support or accounts by an auto attendant. Call queues hold the callers until somebody is available, but hunt groups make a call to a selected team. Time-based routing is concerned with out-of-business-hours calls. Have short menus and test them as a caller would. Complicated phone trees are annoying to the customers.
Companies that have multiple offices are able to handle extensions and call management using a single platform. Calls can be transferred between sites by staff and changes can be made centrally by administrators. Check site, user and simultaneous-call limits. Make sure that teams need personal permissions, greetings or opening hours.
The features might include call reports, voicemail-to-email, call recording and customer relationship management (CRM) integration. Call reports tell you how many calls there are, how many calls are not answered and how long people wait. CRM integration can show details about callers or records of calls. Ensure that your software is supported and part of the plan. Create rules about access, keeping and privacy of recordings.
Hosted calls demand a good network. Latency can cause conversations to be delayed, audio to feel uneven because of jitter and speech to become distorted or have gaps due to packet loss.
Divide concurrent calls, not the number of employees. G.711 call may require approximately 80-100 kbps in each direction plus overheads based on settings. Request the provider to test your broadband, router and local network. Quality of Service (QoS) is able to give voice traffic preference on supported equipment.
Hosted systems are still dependent on the internet and power. Look at backup connection or call diversion in case of failure of the main connection. Check service commitments, fault reporting, support hours and recovery procedures. Ask about mobile and desktop application support of emergency calls, and how the service identifies the location of the caller.
Account security, administrator privileges, software and encryption. Standardized rules regarding access to voicemail and recording, retention and porting of numbers. Test service prior to rollout.
The traditional PSTN and ISDN services in the UK are being phased out as the communications are transferred to the digital services. Ensure that your provider has migration plans and verify up-to-date Ofcom advice.
Inspect devices other than handsets. Existing lines may be used by alarms, lift phones, payment terminals and door-entry systems. Ask suppliers whether replacement connections are required and then test vital devices after migration.
Start with your patterns of calling. An office that is small in size might need extensions and voicemail; sales teams might need CRM integration and support teams might need call queues. Look at the cost, the features available, whether the handsets work well, moving numbers from one service to another, the contract conditions, the support offered and any outages.
Ask about the person who handles the installation and the training for the staff. Find out how long the number transfer will take, what will happen if there is a delay in the transfer and whether the current service will stay active until the new system is fully working. A small test run can show if there are Wi‑Fi signals, menus or training needs before the whole team switches over.
Wavetel Business provides hosted phone system options for UK businesses. The plans cost between £4.99 and £9.99 per user each month. Businesses can look at the features and support that are offered and compare them with the communication needs of the business before picking a package that fits.
Hosted telephony helps SMEs to manage both incoming and outgoing calls within and outside the office and remote employees with less physical equipment. Its worth is based on the matching features to the workflows, preparing the network and comprehension of the overall costs. Check security, support, number porting and related equipment prior to switching. Wavetel Business helps businesses in the UK to take into consideration the possibilities of hosted phone systems.
Prepared to enhance business calls? Get in touch with Wavetel Business for hosted phone system solutions for your team.
Hosted phone system is a type of phone service that lives on a platform provided by a company. It also lets employees make and receive business calls using phones that fit on a desk, computers or mobile apps without needing a phone system right in the office.
The main advantages are money needed for equipment at the start easier growth for the business ability to work from anywhere more options when making calls and access to things, like voicemail call transfer and connecting with customer relationship management tools.
Hosted phone system has the ability to lower initial hardware and maintenance expenses. The general price will be pegged on the user licences, call allowance, handsets, set up charges, contract and other features that might be required.
Hosted phone system needs a steady internet connection and adequate bandwidth to make simultaneous calls. The importance of low latency, low jitter and low packet loss is important in the quality of voice that is clear.
Yes. Desk applications, mobile applications or supported desk phones can be used by employees in general, regardless of their location. They require the appropriate internet connectivity and approved access to the business telephone service.
Yes. The majority of hosted systems allow administrators to add users, configure extensions and call routing through an online portal. Before selecting a provider, businesses are advised to verify user limits, extra charges and features.
Give your team the flexibility to stay connected and manage customer calls more efficiently. Explore Wavetel hosted telephony solutions that fit your business needs.