What is a Hosted PBX? Full Guide

A hosted PBX is a private branch exchange (PBX) delivered as a hosted service. It’s also known as a virtual PBX and the advantages that companies experience are the elimination of installation, operation, and maintenance costs of their VoIP PBX. This is because their VoIP service provider hosts their PBX for them.

A hosted PBX still allows companies to utilize and take complete advantage of their phone system’s features such as voicemail, faxing, automated greetings, conferences, and so on. Companies that offer hosted PBX as a service to their customers handle the call routing or switching as well as all maintenance involved in the hosted PBX service.

How does a Hosted PBX work?

There are three ways that a hosted phone system can make and receive calls; either over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), over the Internet (hosted IP PBX via Internet Telephony or Voice Over IP, VoIP), or with a combination of the two.

Hosted PBX vs traditional PBX systems

Hosted PBX Traditional PBX
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Reliant on network cabling & telephone lines
Requires minimal ongoing maintenance High maintenance costs
Offers other bundled communication solutions Very few in call features available
Easily scalable Needs a technician to add extensions
Totally mobile Tied down to your desk

Key benefits of hosted PBX solutions

hosted pbx solution graph

More and more business owners are opting for cloud phone systems, and with good reason. Here’s why a cloud PBX is a great solution for companies of varying sizes:

  • Lower cost to set up – As the phone system is virtual, the initial investment is minimal as there is no need for the costly phone hardware and installation that a traditional PBX requires. And you will be saving on valuable space since everything is in the cloud! All you need to factor in, is the cost of the software and the hosting provider. In many cases you can also use existing telephone hardware - no need for special expensive equipment.

  • Elimination of maintenance costs – Since there’s no end-user management involved with a virtual PBX, it’s easier to manage than a traditional phone system. Call settings and changes can be deployed company wide in a flash. Other features like call forwarding, caller ID and voicemail are as easy to maintain as toggling a setting on or off. With a hosted phone system, there is no need to hire someone in-house to manage and maintain it. What’s more you’re off the hook with regards to costs should there be a fault.

  • User-friendly – For end-users, a virtual PBX is conveniently simple to use and manage. There’s no need for any training or specialized skills so you can start using your new business phone system right away. It’s also easy for employees to log in and easily route their phone number to a new device.

  • Unbeatable mobility - With a hosted PBX system, employees can work from anywhere while still keeping their office phone number and extension. All they need is an internet connection to connect via a web browser. Some hosted phone systems like 3CX also offer free mobile apps to take and receive phone calls on their mobile phone. Ideal for home-workers and salespeople who are constantly on the move.

  • Scalability & the global potential – With a virtual phone system businesses can add or remove lines and extensions as they grow. This requires minimal work and depending on the provider, little to no additional costs. Multiple offices can be connected by the same system eliminating inter-office call charges.

  • Secure communication – Forget about problems with wiring and downed telephone lines. A hosted model delivers reliability since PBX updates and new functionality are included without delay. Disaster recovery is also fast and seamless.

  • Advanced Unified Communications – Make use of advanced additional features such as an auto attendant, presence, advanced call routing and call recording. Not only used for inbound and outbound calls - keep collaborating with instant messaging, live chat, video conferencing, WhatsApp integration, SMS. A good hosted phone system will deliver all this and more.
  • Boost the corporate image – Small businesses need not seem unprofessional or skimp on customer service. By using a hosted phone system, and the professional PBX features that come with it, they can give the impression of being a much larger organization.

Implementing a hosted phone system

When choosing a PBX system for your business, the toss-up between an on premise PBX system or a hosted phone system can be somewhat confusing.

With a hosted solution, introducing a whole new phone system to your company isn’t as scary as it sounds. It’s quick and easy to set up, so there’s no downtime for your business or expensive installation costs. Moreover, you can be safe in the knowledge that you’ll receive the best service and support and that your business communications are in safe hands.

Implementing a hosted phone system is an easy task as you can deploy and fully configure it before going ‘live’. All users can have their extension welcome email sent prior to the go-live date so that they can become familiar with the new software features. Once everything has been set up and tested, the main business telephone numbers can be transferred from the legacy system over to the new hosted system.

How to choose the right hosted PBX provider

With a hosted PBX such as 3CX, you have two options to host in the cloud:

  1. Either choose to self-host yourself in your own cloud account via a reputable hosted PBX provider (such as Google, Amazon, Azure, DigitalOcean and more).
  2. Have 3CX host and manage your PBX for you, guaranteeing zero maintenance and using the very best cloud hosting providers.

Use Case: Woodstock Trading Company

Woodstock Trading Company

Learn how Woodstock was able to transition from their traditional PBX to a robust modern, hosted PBX solution. 3CX offered a solution that could work with their existing infrastructure. What’s more with the Covid-19 lockdown being enforced, they were able to quickly replace their legacy phone system with something that would allow the workforce to work from home. Read the case study to see how Woodstock managed to migrate over to a new hosted 3CX solution in no time.

Further reading