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Installation
Hosted solutions are less likely to have post-installation problems because pre-installation site reviews are usually conducted by experts. Simply through a lack of experience, errors can be made in the course of a company's self-appraisal process. Further, hosted solutions require fewer customer premise elements. The combination of expert site reviews and less complex equipment installation can mean smoother transitions and decreases the need for trouble-shooting.
Because there is less need for customer participation in a hosted solution, hosted providers can provide a project time-frame with a good degree of accuracy. This benefits both customers and service providers by removing uncertainty in the deployment schedule.
Hosted services can be deployed on a line-by-line basis, which means that they are easily expandable. They allow for flexibility during the transition from premise-based equipment to a hosted service because they can co-exist with previously existing premise equipment. This means that an enterprise doesn't need to transition all of its equipment at the same time,which would usually be the case with a premise-based PBX. In this way, hosted transitions can be scheduled and implemented to best fit an enterprise's schedule.
In a hosted solution, initial capital expenditures are lower because the amount of customer-premise equipment is reduced.
Maintenance
With a hosted solution, any problems that do occur can sometimes be fixed more quickly because of the centralized nature of the service. Premise-based solutions often require a truck-roll (on-site visit) to the premise, a requirement that introduces a period of delay in any trouble-shooting endeavor. Hosted solutions circumvent this delay and can reduce down-time from a potential four hour minimum (which is often the case in a “truck-roll” scenario), to a few minutes. Further, hosted solutions usually have 24x7 monitoring and management. To get that same level of service in a premise-based solution can require a higher (and therefore more expensive) service level agreement.
Most maintenance contracts for hosted solutions are based around per-seat licenses, and only charge for seats in use. This contrasts with premise-based solutions, which often charge “per-active-port” fees. In the hosted situation, a customer only pays for what they use; in the premise-based solution, a customer pays for everything that they could use. The latter situation opens the door for increased costs.
Hardware and software upgrades can be managed more easily via a hosted solution than a premise-based solution. The vendor manages the upgrade and rolls it out once it is ready, making for a pain-free transition. On the other hand, hosted providers, while motivated to stay up-to-date, cannot roll out an improvement as fast as a premise-based solution where the update can be driven internally.
With a hosted solution, operational expenditures are made more predictable, which in turn aids in planning cash flow. With premise-based solutions, operational expenditures while usually lower, can also spike unpredictably when issues occur.
Maintenance issues can be more quickly and efficiently addressed in hosted solutions because the majority of equipment is centrally located. A premise based solution could achieve the same service speed if it maintained a set of expert technicians on-site, but the cost of that scenario would most likely be prohibitive.
Configuration Management
Most network configuration errors are caused by human error. In the hosted environment the likelihood of problems arising due to change can be reduced if the vendor is experienced and makes use of well-scripted change management procedures.
A customer doesn't have to worry about managing growth, because the service provider does that. Both increasing and decreasing capacity become a simple matter of contracts with a service provider, rather than buying or selling premise-based equipment. This flexibility can make a hosted solution more attractive to a customer. At the same time, it doesn't hurt service providers because excess resources can be transferred to other deployments.
However, configuration management is one of the areas in which a premise based solution can make more sense for a business. This will be the case if administrative functions or control are mission-critical to the success of the business.
Xiptel Hosted VoIP Service & How it Works
 The Xiptel hosted VoIP solution requires fewer customer premise elements than a traditional on-site PBX system. Xiptel's hosted VoIP phone system is housed in tier 3 & 4 data centers across the United States, ensuring industry leading reliability and performance. Xiptel can provide an install project time-frame with a high degree of accuracy allowing for the smoothest transition to our hosted phone service. Xiptel removes uncertainty in the deployment schedule and tailors the hosted implementation to meet specific customer requirements. Xiptel hosted services can be deployed on a line-by-line basis, which means that they are easily expandable. Xiptel provides flexibility during the transition from premise-based equipment to hosted service because Xiptel can co-exist with previously existing premise equipment. This means that an enterprise doesn't need to transition all of its equipment at the same time, which would usually be the case with a premise-based PBX. In this way, the transition to Xiptel service can be scheduled and implemented to best fit your schedule. With the Xiptel hosted VoIP solution, initial capital expenditures are lower because the amount of customer-premise equipment is significantly reduced. |
Hosted VoIP Service
