Apr 23, 2013
Last week, PC Mag posted an article on business VoIP provider RingCentral’s perspective on how cloud computing technology transformed the VoIP industry. The article makes several good points on how the telecom industry is changing, and how cloud computing factors into those changes.

The article points out that cloud computing made hosted VoIP possible, and today many business and residential customers are choosing hosted VoIP for their telecom solutions. Hosted VoIP refers to voice over Internet protocol solutions that are based on cloud computing. That is, when a customer signs up for hosted VoIP, they receive their phone service through an all-Internet data backup system.

For customers, this translates into low-cost, fully-featured Internet phone service. However, according to VoIP writer Rachel Greenberg, many people still don’t know about VoIP, or don’t really understand how Internet phone service works, so My VoIP Provider has decided to announce the top 3 ways that innovations in hosted Internet phone service technology leads to cost effective small business phone solutions.

1. Hosted VoIP negates the need for in-house equipment
   Hosted Internet phone service comprises all of the functionality of a standard PBX (private branch exchange), but relocates all of the switching and line maintenance from an old fashioned in-house PBX to hosted cloud data platform. Business owners operate and manage their PBX through a control panel on their computer. There is no cabinet or switchboard or manual operator of the old PBX setup. This means that even the smallest business can have the same fully-featured Internet phone service as any industry or global company without having to consider cost of equipment or maintenance.
2. Hosted Internet phone service has unlimited extensions
   Because VoIP providers used hosted cloud systems to provide their customers with Internet phone service, it is easy for them to offer their customers as many extensions as they want, each with unlimited calling minutes. Adding and subtracting extensions is as easy as calling the VoIP provider and requesting the change. There is no need for a technician to visit the business and physically move the line. This leads to significant cost savings, and gives a business a scalable Internet phone service solution at a low cost.
3. Hosted business VoIP is easy for customers to use
   By itself, VoIP technology makes it easy for customers to make cheap calls to phone numbers all over the world without incurring large long distance or international fees. But the move to hosted systems makes the customer experience with business VoIP even easier. Without hosted platforms, business customers need to buy their own IP PBX and a SIP trunking solutions. SIP trunking is very cheap, but does require some technical know-how to buy and set up correctly.

Hosted systems make VoIP an easy option for any business customer with any level of technical know-how.