Hosted VoIP

Hosted VoIP - Hosted VoIP vs. On-Premises VoIP: Settling the Debate

By David Sims, TMCnet Contributing Editor

In digital terms, it’s an old debate: Which is better, hosted VoIP or premise-based VoIP?

Hosted VoIP, looked at objectively, does have several compelling advantages over premise-based VoIP. That’s the opinion of unified communications vendor Alteva account manager and blogger Jonathan Bishop.

As he explains, a premise-based VoIP PBX (News - Alert), as the name might imply, is located somewhere on your premises, in your building. You buy it, you hire people to run it, you keep track of upgrades, and you fix it if and when something goes wrong.

For some companies, that’s 51 percent of the argument right there. If you need to have the latest and greatest hardware in-house, and if you have the money to plunk down for it all, the time and expertise to get it all installed yourself or pay someone to do it for you, you can afford it and the sort of IT talent to keep it all running smoothly, and if you enjoy keeping track of and paying for all the latest upgrades and maintenance yourself, premise-based is perfect for you.

Now for the rest of us still reading, who can’t afford the level of technology we’d like to have, much less the IT staff to run and maintain and upgrade it, there’s hosted VoIP.

The bottom line is that with hosted VoIP you have “greater capability, more control and ease-of-use with less responsibility and a lower total cost of ownership,” as Bishop contends, as well as a fully capable IT staff running it all for you.  

One company specializing in hosted VoIP is RealLinx (News - Alert), a provider of managed broadband, voice, security and hosting solutions. Its VoiceLinx solution helps users reduce costs by 20 to 30 percent and simply connects to a VoIP or video phones. With a simple Internet connection and VoiceLinx service, you gain access to a business-class phone system. This system gives you access to a centralized receptionist; all remote workers on the same phone system; voicemail to e-mail; follow me and free video conferencing.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration click here.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.

David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of David’s articles, please visit his columnist page. He also blogs for TMCnet here.

Edited by Tammy Wolf