A Private Branch eXchange (PBX ) system connects business office telephones to the public telephone network (PSTN). Hosted PBX uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), the latest innovation in telephone services. It represents a communications platform integrating best-practice features of current Centrex and On-premise IP PBX systems into a single coherent system. The development and expanding use of VoIP offers considerable opportunities for anyone with the foresight to become a hosted PBX reseller, a service market certain to undergo considerable growth in the years to come.
Hosted PBX Systems
Hosted PBX is a virtual platform employing state-of-the-art IT for sophisticated telephony functions, at a low cost compared to on-site systems. Because the external service provider owns and administers all equipment necessary for system function in their data center, operating costs are lower, in comparison to other technologies, which all require considerable capital outlays to start and operate. Organizations of all sizes and purposes can benefit from hosted PBX enterprise attributes and performance scaled to their precise user-requirements and business functions.
Hosted PBX Resellers
As service provider, the reseller maintains his or her own customer-base, becoming an independent telephone company. Partnering with a VoIP enterprise, the hosted PBX reseller hires only client development and sales personnel. VoIP capabilities limit reseller costs for equipment, infrastructure and networking, savings which can be passed on to the customer, through feature-rich, cost-effective telephony solutions. Margins can be 70 percent, as the reseller leverages his or her company brand and customer relationships, uniting with an expanding client base that can generate long-term revenue.
Working with a best practice organization like White Label Communications, hosted PBX resellers can begin by pointing out to prospective customers the weaknesses of premise-based PBX equipment. Standard PBX systems have problems with expense, flexibility and adaptability that make hosted PBX more appealing.
• Expense
1. Starting costs are high, between $500-$2,000/user for equipment and installation.
2. Less expensive systems provide limited features/scalability.
3. Advanced functionality is more costly, beyond the means of many smaller firms.
4. These features are standard and inexpensive with hosted PBX.
5. High maintenance/support costs for on-premise systems.
6. Trained support personnel are required for hardware/software maintenance.
7. These expenses are absorbed by the provider with hosted PBX.
• Flexibility
1. Limited scalability
2. Difficulty adding phone-lines for additional enterprise users.
3. Capacity issues often necessitate purchase of unneeded equipment.
4. Difficulty adding new features without major system upgrades or replacement.
5. Add-on features more expensive than if they were an original system component.
6. Hosted PBX responds to current enterprise scalability requirements, providing features as needed, added or subtracted according to enterprise use.
• Adaptability
1. On-premise PBX is unresponsive to contemporary mobile enterprise requirements.
2. Basic PBX on-site architecture has problems transmitting calls outside of the office to a widely dispersed workforce.
3. Hosted PBX is much more adaptable to contemporary distributed workforce needs, saving office costs.
The contemporary PBX reseller can improve customer response by pointing out these disadvantages compared to the emerging hosted virtual office. It is difficult and expensive to make standard PBX equipment work for these environments. In comparison to on-premise platforms, hosted PBX can be implemented with minimal outlay of capital and only monthly charges. No longer-term contracts are required, a condition especially appealing to small businesses confined by costly and perhaps outdated on-premise communications equipment.
The hosted PBX reseller can rightfully call attention to the fact that, for businesses especially, hosted PBX offers the following advantages in four crucial arenas of operation:
• Financial savings are available because the hosted PBX reseller can guarantee:
1. low capital requirements,
2. limited probability of obsolescence,
3. predictable monthly expenses, and
4. no payment until service is connected.
• In addition, hosted PBX systems provide savings because they use:
1. standards-based equipment,
2. converged voice/data/video lines,
3. one provided number service, and
4. simplified add-ons/changes/moves of/to equipment.
• Hosted PBX resellers can promote greater service reliability results for customers from enhanced:
1. end-user control,
2. disaster recovery,
3. local survivability via PSTN, and most significantly
4. professionally-hosted voice infrastructure.
• Enhanced productivity is a function of hosted PBX through:
1. cohesive services for diverse workforce applications,
2. mobile phone integration,
3. end-user productivity features,
4. improved remote user-support, and
5. roll-out of new features.
Conclusion
The hosted PBX reseller can inform customers that, unlike with on-premise solutions, the server assumes responsibility for monitoring and managing telephony services, freeing the end-user company from this obligation. Hosted PBX systems do not require specialized hardware, but are agile, cost-effective, and highly scalable, offering an excellent return on investment (ROI) compared to competitors. Flexibility is the primary benefit the hosted PBX reseller can emphasize, particularly for customers whose external workforce may be mobile, working from multiple locations either on-premise, at home, or on-the-road.
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