Great choice for small businesses, medium-sized businesses, and businesses with lots of sites
No PBX hardware to buy
Monthly fee per user for the PBX
Extremely scalable solution
Typically resilient, when it comes to hardware. More than one PBX, usually
Connectivity problems → No internal or external calls
Software upgrades several times per year. You've no control over when they take place.
Purchased On-Site PBX at each site
(We offer this option too)
Great choice for large businesses and for businesses with large offices
You'll need to purchase a PBX. They're quite expensive.
If you have multiple sites, you will need to buy multiple PBXs, unless you have a WAN that can carry your calls to a central PBX
There's no monthly fee per PBX user (but you may still have to pay monthly for hardware support)
Scalability generally involves paying for spare capacity upfront
Adding further capacity later can be expensive
Minimal resilience, when it comes to hardware. Sites are dependent on a single PBX
PBX(s) live in your server room(s), taking up space and consuming power
Connectivity problems → No external calls. But internal on-site calls are still possible
You have some influence over when system upgrades are scheduled
Your choice of telecoms supplier is independent of your choice of phone system
Generic Brand Phones
(We offer this option, using Polycom phones)
Likely to be materially cheaper than premium brands
More than adequate for most businesses
Top-of-the-range phones are surprisingly good (e.g. featuring colour touchscreens etc)
Lots of 'partner' organisations can sell you the partner or offer you paid support contracts
Generic manufacturers aren't necessarily small, they're just not as well known as the premium brands. For example, Polycom's annual revenue is over $1.2bn - similar to Mitel's.
Phones tend to be touted as 'standards based.' The implicit idea: it's possible to mix & match hardware from multiple manufacturers, e.g. the phones made by one manufacturers will work with a PBX made by another firm, so long as both bits of hardware support the same standard.
Likely to grow market share (due to low prices)
Premium Phone Brands
(We offer this option too, using Mitel phones)
Usually more expensive than lesser-known brands
Not always worth the price premium
Premium brands tend to have more resellers (aka 'partners') than generic brands
Premium brands have lots of niche solutions, perfect for large firms such as hotel chains, investment banks and major retail chains
Premium brand phones often support standards, but tend to have proprietary extensions that require a PBX from the same manufacturer in order to work fully
Homogeneous ecosystems → few interoperability issues
Modern IP Phone System
(We offer this option)
Phones plug into your existing LAN / WAN
A single PBX can power phones in multiple offices
The PBX connects to the outside world using SIP trunks (or similar)
Features are powered by software, running on a high-spec server
The system is scalable (it's easy to add more RAM etc)
LAN has to be configured appropriately, or call quality can suffer
Lower phone bills, as SIP trunks are cheaper than ISDN channels
Lower connectivity bills, as leased lines are cheaper per bit than ISDN circuits
Changes are made by your IT Manager
Non-VoIP Phone System
(We don't offer this option)
You need two networks: one for your phones, another for your PCs
Every office requires its own PBX
The system connects to the outside world using ISDN circuits
Features are primarily determined by electronic circuitry
Limited scalability, but some expansion is often possible
Standard call quality
Call quality is unaffected by poor LAN configuration
hSo is a trading name of Highspeed Office Ltd, 50 Leman Street, London, E1 8HQ
Company Registration No. 03935705
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