Hosted PBX Guide

            PBX stands for Public Branch eXchange, and refers to the telephony switchboard hardware.  The PBX is where an incoming phone call can be routed to different extensions.  Normally this hardware is all kept in some back room or closet at a company, but with the march of technology these devices no longer need to be on site.  When a phone call is placed to a customer of a hosted PBX service, the phone call goes instead to their business location, gets processed through their hardware, and is then sent to your phone extensions.  So the short, simple, easy explanation is that a hosted PBX provides advanced call routing service without you needing to handle the technical side - because it's a PBX service that's being hosted by someone else.

            There's a wide variety of additional benefits to getting a PBX service aside from just routing calls, however.  Aside from routing calls, handling holds and transfers, and allowing more than one person to be reached from a single business number, the PBX also manages incoming calls for the business that are not immediately picked up.  Voicemail, faxes, automated greetings or messages, touchtone menus, conferences, call records, and phone calls that go to the first available person in a department are all services provided by advanced PBX systems.

            Similarly, hosted PBX systems also provide those benefits, as well as a few others.  Because it is a hosted system, there's no high initial cost for buying the expensive hardware.  There's also never an upgrade cost for changing hardware.  Unlike traditional PBX services, hosted PBX makes advanced business technology available for even small businesses.  For more information about special features, hosted vs. hardware, or help choosing your provider, you've come to the right place.

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