‘VoIP’ is Voice (and often video) telecommunications over an Internet Protocol circuit. ‘Hosted” is where the functions typically performed by on onsite PBX (Public Branch Exchange) – including call routing, voicemail, phone control (Hold, Caller ID, Call Waiting, etc.) and other phone system features – are instead delivered over the network from a remote data center (often called a ‘soft switch’ and ‘feature controller’).

The advantages of PBfleX Hosted VoIP are:

Sharply reduced upfront costs and much simpler installations – Since all of the call switching and most of the phone handset features and functions are delivered by PBfleX over the network, there is no need for additional on customer premise equipment (PBXs, gateways, etc.). This saves very large upfront equipment costs. All that is required on site are end user devices (phone handsets, conferencing equipment, etc.), a VoIP-ready LAN, and the circuits required to connect to PBfleX’s network.

Dramatically lower ongoing costs – By eliminating separate voice, data (and, in some cases, video) networks and the costs of maintaining them, as well as the separate costs (and bills) from all of the various vendors that supply and maintain them, PBfleX Hosted VoIP typically costs far less per month overall. In addition, VoIP uses bandwidth more efficiently than old-style circuit switching, resulting in better network utilization.

PBfleX customers also save by purchasing only the “seats” they need – If a business’s employment situation changes, it can immediately purchase more or fewer seats. And, PBfleX’s per seat charges are all-inclusive, including upgrades and performance and availability monitoring -- all of which are handled remotely by PBfleX.

Greatly increased user IT staff productivity – PBfleX manages our customers’ phone systems – all function, feature and application upgrades and performance assurance – so our customers’ IT departments can focus on higher ROI activities specific to their particular businesses. This is often a huge source of time and cost savings, as the effort required to maintain a company’s various communication systems keeps growing.

Communications supplier consolidation – By replacing:

• Multiple data (WAN), voice (local and long distance) and video networks
• Multiple equipment suppliers and installation and maintenance vendors, and
• Multiple communication function, feature and application providers …

…all with PBfleX Hosted VoIP over a converged, IP-based network, companies can consolidate an incredible number of different suppliers, vendors and providers into one Hosted VoIP provider -- PBfleX. These include: separate equipment installation, consulting, maintenance and services vendors; plus separate local telephone, long distance telephone, wide area networking, voicemail, email, fax server, Internet access, voice and video conferencing and other communication services providers; plus other application (Automated Call Distribution, Call Detail Records, Call Recording, etc.) providers.

PBfleX consolidates all communication services onto one, much more simplified bill. When issues arise, customers no longer have to wade into a confusing mass of finger-pointing vendors. They now have “one throat to choke” if something goes wrong – PBfleX – and one number to call when they need to change anything.

Increased new productivity-enhancing features and applications – The incredible flexibility and adaptability of IP-based networks – combined with the incredible adaptability of PBfleX Hosted VoIP – opens a whole new world of potential business improvements. PBfleX customers get all of the standard Business Phone features and functions, including conferencing, unified communications (emails, voicemails and faxes all in one inbox), and much more.

Users’ physical locations become unimportant, so long as they can connect to the company’s network. Far-flung employees now communicate and operate as one entity, regardless of the distances between them.

However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. PBfleX can deliver a whole new, second level of communication management optimization applications. Examples include:

• Virtual call centers and Web-enabled call center management. Users in different offices and even those working from home can now all function as one, “virtual” call center. Managers can dynamically monitor and manage employee availability, call flow patterns and queues, and overall staffing levels from PBfleX’s secure Web portal. Customer service can be dramatically improved by routing the right calls to the right people at the right times, regardless of where the calls are coming from or the physical location of the person to whom the calls need to be routed. Companies can even ensure that no call ever gets a busy signal or ever goes to voicemail, if they wish.
• Detailed and Web-enabled call activity monitoring and reporting. All calling activity, company-wide, can now be collectively summarized, analyzed, and optimized. Outbound telemarketing and inbound customer service communications can be micromanaged and dramatically improved. Sales and customer service disputes can be handled more effectively through knowing exactly who called whom and when they did so. Individual sales and customer service representatives’ performance can be monitored, from anywhere, to improve individual performance and productivity.
• Improved Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity. Because all communications are routed by PBfleX’s centralized IP communications platform, if an end user device or group of end user devices become unavailable, due to a disaster or for any other reason, communications to them can be automatically rerouted to other end users and company locations. Furthermore, all function, feature, and application software is resident in a remote, secure and redundant PBfleX data centers. This means much higher reliability relative to phone systems supported by on-premise equipment. Disaster recovery is also much faster, because as soon as a location’s or an individual user’s LAN and network connections are restored, all of the function, feature, and application software is immediately available again. No user settings, historical data, or other communication information is lost.