On-premises vs Cloud
– Which is right for
your business?
If, like many businesses, you have spent any time looking at
your telecommunications need, you will undoubtedly have heard
people referring to ‘The Cloud’.
What is this cloud and what does it mean
for the good old faithful Telephone PBX
System residing in many businesses
throughout the world. Cloud based or
‘hosted’ telephone solutions work using
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and
is essentially a phone system which
carries voice over the internet using digital
signals and has numerous benefits which
has increased its popularity in business
telecoms. This then goes through a
‘hosted’ or cloud provider meaning there
is no need for any hardware in the office
except the handsets.
Purchasing the right telephone system is
important for the success of any business
and there are several factors that come into
play when deciding between a premisesbased and hosted (Cloud) VoIP phone
system. If you are unfamiliar with Cloud
based services some of the main pros and
cons are:
Advantages
• Communication-related disasters are
handled by the hosting provider
• Companies can focus more on their
business activities and goals
• Low initial investment
• Maintenance and upgrades are taken
care of by the hosting provider
Disadvantages
• Extra cost for added features
• Limited flexibility of users
• Monthly fees
• Reliance on internet connection
Cost is one of the biggest factors a
business considers when investing,
and choosing a telephone solution is no
different. Hosted VoIP solutions have the
benefit of low start up costs with continued
savings on calls, reduced maintenance and
line rental.
Purchasing an on-premises system clearly
comes with a more substantial initial cost,
however these can be spread over time by
leasing or renting the equipment. This is a
method many companies use to spread
the cost whilst keeping the benefits of
having an in-house system. Owning the
system gives a business a potentially
lower on-going cost, however there is
a price when maintaining the hardware
that can be dealt with on an ad-hoc basis
or through a maintenance plan with the
supplier. Modern systems are increasingly
resilient, but should the worst happen,
such an essential business communication
tool shouldn’t be left at risk and by owning
a system means the responsibility lies to
some extent with the owner.
For most businesses with success in mind,
growth will be an element of the company’s
operations which takes significant
planning. If there is potential for immanent
growth you will need to consider how this
will impact your purchase decision. Both
on-premises and hosted solutions provide
the possibility for expansion and there
are costs to consider for expanding. For
example, adding more handsets to an on
premises system requires purchasing more
IP phones, possible additional licensing
and system hardware. This combined
with engineering requirements makes
expanding an on-premises system more
labour intensive. With hosted (cloud),
however, additional IP phones can be
bought and added to the service plan,
which requires additional programming
time by the provider. This can also increase
the monthly cost, depending on how plan
has been set up.
Possibly the most important aspect to
consider is understanding which features
your business needs and which system
can best meet your requirements. Many
hosted providers don’t offer the same out
of the box features in their hosted product
as they do for their on-premises based
solution, however it’s worth noting that
there are some excellent hosted solutions
out there. The Horizon hosted offering
comes with many of the features included
so you don’t have to worry about lack of
features when choosing a cloud based
solution.
Essentially pitting the two options against
each other by comparing their respective
benefits and shortcomings can’t provide
a unified solution. The choice ultimately
comes down to a case of which option
is most suitable for your company’s
requirements and ways of working.
B
y Kyri Jones
Overline.com
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