While there is definitely a lot to think about when doing VoIP in-house, small & medium sized businesses find hosted VoIP attractive especially when they have multiple, separate small offices.
Can anyone share their personal experience with hosted VoIP providers for small & medium businesses?
For reliability, is hosted VoIP through someone big such as Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, Qwest a better idea? Or are there smaller names that stand out?
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Using hosted VoIP in a NEW business is a good option if the company can't afford to purchase or secure financing for a non-hosted solution. This is the only time it makes sense.
Hosted providers charge a monthly fee per handset which can range from $25-$40 a month plus the cost of the bandwidth and any additional charges they may add. You pay these monthly fees forever. Also consider that you are "married" to the provider, leaving them means purchasing a new server and paying someone to reprogram the phones.
With a non-hosted solution you pay for the system over 3 years if you lease it, after that you only pay for the bandwidth. This is when you start to see significant savings versus a hosted solution. You can also change providers with ease should you have problems or get a better bandwidth offer.
If you still choose the hosted route, do your homework. There are many small providers with horrible support, this also goes for large players. They implement the system and leave you hanging when it comes to questions or problems. When we implement a hosted solution for a client I hand pick the support team. We've found that with hosted VoIP, most telecom's have a few good support staff that can sort through problems. I recommend working with a communications broker to help you sort through hosted and non-hosted options. They will have good inside information on the hosted providers, and you may find that going non-hosted is a better option for your business.
Hosted providers charge a monthly fee per handset which can range from $25-$40 a month plus the cost of the bandwidth and any additional charges they may add. You pay these monthly fees forever. Also consider that you are "married" to the provider, leaving them means purchasing a new server and paying someone to reprogram the phones.
With a non-hosted solution you pay for the system over 3 years if you lease it, after that you only pay for the bandwidth. This is when you start to see significant savings versus a hosted solution. You can also change providers with ease should you have problems or get a better bandwidth offer.
If you still choose the hosted route, do your homework. There are many small providers with horrible support, this also goes for large players. They implement the system and leave you hanging when it comes to questions or problems. When we implement a hosted solution for a client I hand pick the support team. We've found that with hosted VoIP, most telecom's have a few good support staff that can sort through problems. I recommend working with a communications broker to help you sort through hosted and non-hosted options. They will have good inside information on the hosted providers, and you may find that going non-hosted is a better option for your business.
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