How Hosted PBX and Managed PBX Systems are different?

The cloud based Hosted PBX Systems are becoming widely popular in the SMB and residential or home based business communication world. The adoption of VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology is increasing rapidly as it is highly cost effective and offers a unified platform for handling voice and data communication. Though the terms Hosted PBX, Managed PBX or Virtual PBX are used interchangeably, there are a few differences between the Managed PBX Services and the Hosted PBX Services. No doubt the two systems are highly advantageous as compared to the classical premise based PBX systems. Both managed and hosted PBX systems save a lot of capital investment in owning and managing a business phone system. The point of difference lies in the boundaries of the Hosted PBX Provider. Managed PBX As the name indicates, the Managed PBX System is managed and maintained by a third party that is you service provider. The technology deployed is VOIP. The voice and data packets are integrated and transmitted over the broadband. For the transmission of voice which is analog in nature, it is firstly digitized and then compressed to utilize the available bandwidth. In case of managed PBX, the PBX system may or may not rest with the user. It can be placed at the business owner’s premise or can also be hosted by a Hosted PBX Provider. Whether the PBX is hosted elsewhere or is placed at the user’s premises, it is fully managed by the service provider. The complete management, day to day monitoring, necessary upgrades and any sort of IT troubleshooting is the responsibility of the hosted PBX VOIP service provider. It includes all the latest calling features like unified messaging, faxing and mailing, call waiting, call forwarding, auto attendant, ACD (Automatic Call Distribution), caller ID, voicemail and conference calling. The service is easy to implement and takes only minutes to install. It gives real time connectivity, scalability and attractive features at cheap prices. As the business expands, the managed PBX scales up to meet the growing business needs. The Hosted PBX provider provides 24X7, round the clock technical support either free of cost or for little added charge. The Quality of Service (QoS) is high, nearly as good as the traditional PBX. It is highly flexible as it works with both digital and IP phones. rnHosted PBX As the name implies the Hosted PBX Systems are hosted at the service provider’s premises. It requires no upfront cost as the PBX hardware is owned and maintained by the Hosted PBX Provider. The users only need high speed internet connection and phone to access the system. The plug-and-play functionality is the best part as you don’t have to worry about your existing numbers if you change location. Many Hosted PBX VOIP service providers provide technical support, disaster recovery, emergency 911 services and a high uptime of 99.999% or more. Their customer support can be reached by mails, chats or calls anytime of the day. rnTo maintain the QoS, the voice packets are prioritized over data packets. There are no jitters. Echoes or voice breaks and the voice quality is truly enterprise class. Long distance calling is very cheap with unlimited international calling for fixed charges. Scalability with hosted PBX Systems is never an issue as any number of extensions can be added in no time. The features available are unified communication, ACD (Automatic Call Distribution), Call Park, Call Hunt, Virtual Receptionist and IVR (Interactive Voice Response). The standard calling features include call waiting, call conferencing, call forwarding, voicemail and 3 way calling. Hosted PBX VOIP is a great deal for small and growing business enterprises as it gives them access to features of expensive business phone systems without the need of spending too much capital. The advanced call handling features give the impression of a Fortune corporate and increases customer satisfaction. It connects remote employees seamlessly to improve employee productivity and impart a greater level of flexibility. rnDepending on your business requirements the choice can be made whether to go for a Managed PBX or Hosted PBX. rnWhatever be your choice switching to anyone of these will surely help you make the best out of your business communication with minimum investment.