3 Most Common Problems with Hosted PBX Provider Services

Have you ever tried to analyze what is it that stops small business enterprises from switching to the hosted communication systems? Every business firm plans its switch first and analyzes all the factors before it can finally start off with the Hosted PBX services. In this process, they come across certain problems that various business firms face. However, the fact is that these problems arise when the right provider is not chosen. Most commonly encountered issues include:

Issue 1: Services are not always charged as promised

There are certain Hosted PBX providers that offer you attractive offers to lure business customers. After signup, many different problems are revealed. These problems mainly include:

·         For every new feature that you intend to add, you have to pay a little extra.

·         Scalability options are restricted to the telecom plans that have been defined by the Hosted PBX providers.

·         The quality of service degrades day by day in case of contract based services. In case you wish to end the contract, you might have to pay some termination fee.

·         In some firms, customer services and troubleshooting is also chargeable and this adds up to greater costs.

·         While using toll free number service, sometimes the providers initiate the misdialed calls to your number in order to increase the calling volumes of the users and to charge them more.

Issue 2: Configuration and compatibility problems

When setting up a hosted communication interface, it becomes essential to find out the quality and the speed of internet that you intend to use for your services. Most of the problems are due to internet bandwidth.

·         The minimum requirement of internet for communication is 3G or Wi-Fi and most of the business organizations do not have this in their existing infrastructure. Hence, integration is not possible until the upgrade is successfully implemented.

·         Landline phones can be efficiently used by business firms that look at the cost-cutting side of business but they cannot provide all the functionality that the VOIP phones can offer. So, such enterprises usually complain about the under-utilization of services. Making an investment in the VOIP phones would add up to the capital expenses.

·         Configuration of the soft switch provided by Hosted PBX providers is also a major issue. The reason is that for first time users, the switch is a little complex and they find it difficult to configure features like call forwarding, voicemail, IVR and call transfer.

Issues 3: Call configuration and quality can be a major issue

Hosted PBX VOIP can be a major issue in the telecom sector. Most of the business enterprises find call quality as an issue. The various problems that they face include the following:

·         Sometimes, the calls are one-sided which means that the caller may hear the receiver’s voice but vice-versa does not happen.

·         The calls that are directed over 2G network face voice break issues that are not as a result of route quality but due to insufficient bandwidth.

·         Calls configuration in Hosted PBX systems to different numbers at different times of day is also a problematic area.

·         The use of CLI and non CLI routes can be issues sometimes when the ACD and ASR factors are below what is required for seamless flow of communication.

All these issues that business firms face are due to the Hosted PBX providers that these organizations choose. It is thus better to first screen the providers that do not bind you through any business phone contracts and them take a trail of the services to test the connection and to understand the interface better. 

How to Get a Reliable Hosted PBX Provider for Business

Most of the business firms in the contemporary business world ensure the maintenance of an efficient business phone system for communication. This is required to interact with clients in the best possible way while completely utilizing the talent of your sales or customer support force. Choosing the right provider for business is essential to ensure that your business gets the perfect match of VOIP features and at the right price. In this era of seamless communication where UC has extended its functionality to include the anytime, anywhere and any media access to all sort of business interactions enabled through a single platform.

The various features that Hosted PBX providers offer include:

Call Hunt: This feature ensures that an incoming call can be made to ring at a number of destinations that may be set as per the priority. The user is given the freedom to change the priority of calls as per the demand and the availability of the business personnel at different times of the day.

Call Recording: This feature of small business PBX is becoming increasingly important in today’s telecommunication world. Call recording is essential since business organizations are able to keep a proper track of calls for various purposes. The judgment of call quality, level of customer service delivered and the duration of all calls made to international destinations for different purposes are the major factors that use these services.

Call Blast: This feature plays its part when it comes to broadcasting a message to clients. The presence of call blast allows the easy broadcast of customized messages that are being used as a means to telephonic promotion of business these days. This feature is quite in use when business firms introduce new enhancements and they want to convey this message to all customers. This feature can also be used to provide clients with the best deals so that they may choose from the available options.

Call Parking: This feature of cloud based interface provided by Hosted PBX providers is helpful in placing a running call on hold from one place or perhaps your desk phone and receiving it from your personal number. In this way, you can service your clients in a timely manner no matter where you are. The objective of 24x7 services can be fulfilled.

Interactive Voice Response: The presence of this feature in your Virtual PBX channel ensures that your customers can take their decisions on the basis of an automated menu thereby saving your time. Some of the automated decisions can also be routed through this channel and the presence of choice ensures that customers can save the call overhead if they can have their queries resolved in a timely fashion without much effort.

These are some of the outstanding features that are becoming important for small and medium scale enterprises today. The use of these features of business phone has helped the existing business firms in achieving a considerable business image. Consideration of the benefiting features is important since it is a set down example that can guide your pathway to success through the utilization of these features. There are many other features like the use of toll free number or DIDs, call transfer, simultaneous ringing, fax, voicemail, call screening and announce, personalized pop-ups, etc. You may find many but to choose the most reliable Hosted PBX provider for your business is a challenge. So, ensure that you make the right choice at the right time.

How to Avoid Some of the Common Mistakes with Hosted PBX Providers

Business organizations are increasingly considering the switch from their old and haphazard phone channels to the new systems. However, making an efficient choice with Hosted PBX providers seems to be a challenging business decision. Most of the growing companies in the business sector are giving up their existing telephone systems that remain tied with analog lines and expensive calls. In addition to the increasing telecommunication bills, there are various other factors as well that crop up to this major decision. These reasons include:

·         Inability to include the latest telecommunication features which thereby makes your business phone channel appear obsolete.

 ·         The routing of calls cannot be carried out in an efficient manner and as a result timely answer of business calls is the major issue that they face.

 ·         The system is not upgraded which makes the callers feel that your business is just a lingering business enterprise in the corporate arena with not much to bother about client services.

 ·         There is no mobility in this fixed PSTN channel and thus, there is probability that even if you are out for some time, you might miss a call.

With the increase in the popularity of business today, the use of Hosted PBX systems also started to increase. However, when it comes to the final switch and choosing which Hosted PBX providers that work the best in the telecommunication domain, making a wise choice is quite a difficult task. There are a number of steps that can guide the choice like proper analysis of the requirements of the system, the consideration of cost factors, the cost and feature compatibility and the awareness about the services of your business firm. However, there are many business firms that make some common mistakes and make a wrong choice:

·         Opting for Hosted PBX providers that are new to the telecom industry: Since new providers have just set their first step into the telecommunication arena, they do not hold a vast clientele which thereby reduces the chances of survival of business. Such providers do not offer what your business can take as a reliable business start.

 ·         Compatibility with the existing infrastructure: There are often some of the business firms that maintain such a channel for communication that offers resistance to the usage of certain configuration of internet network. It is necessary to go for a Hosted PBX VOIP channel that can be integrated with the type of infrastructure that your business organization supports.

 ·         Understanding of proper plans: Proper understanding of plans offered by Hosted PBX providers is also a skill. Most often they lure customers by surfacing the ideas of free calling and reduced costs but it turns out ultimately that the free calling is within their network which is generally too small and for outside calls, the calls will be made at quite impressive prices.

·         Analyze the probable future requirements and plan additions: There are some Hosted PBX providers that offer limited features with a particular plan. At the start, this plan may seem to be suitable but when you think of adding new enhanced features, the costs involved with this system is high and in this way, your business phone package no longer remains a profitable communication proposition.

·         Termination Policies and Binding Contracts: There are often some Virtual PBX plans where the providers bind the customers with some contract for a specific duration of time. Try to avoid such contracts since you might get good services in the beginning but they may not turn out to be so fruitful in the long run and then, you will be left with no option rather than to continue till the contract gets over.