Will Your Hosted VoIP System Ever Go Obsolete?

When a business wants to invest in a new technology, there are many considerations that factor into the decision. The new technology should meet the needs of the company, it should provide a positive return on investment and should add value to the business.

On the flip-side, managers also have to ensure that it is not too expensive, can be adapted as the business changes and that it won’t become obsolete within a few years.

In the fast-paced world of VoIP technology, concerns over obsolescence assume more significance than usual. An expensive solution that was state of the art when it was first purchased a few years ago may no longer be able to support the latest features.

Innovation is tremendously fast when it comes to hardware as well – older software may be unable to take advantage of faster processors or memory constricting the use of advanced capabilities (similar to how 32-bit software could not use more than 4GB RAM).

The Advantages Of Hosted VoIP Systems

Hosted VoIP providers act as a buffer between enterprises and the risk of obsolescence. This feature is often overlooked by companies when they are comparing hosted solutions to on premise ones.

The VoIP provider has a bigger incentive to upgrade the equipment and software in order to stay relevant within the industry and keep pace with the competition.

In addition, vendors are able to justify expensive upgrades even in a short span of time, since a larger client base is available to utilize it to the fullest extent.

A small business with 50 employees may not be able to spend thousands of dollars on upgrading the phone equipment but a VoIP vendor will as they likely have many customers waiting for it.

Never Upgrade Hardware

Upgrading older phone equipment requires capital investment and time. It also has the potential to disrupt business as the transition takes place.

With hosted VoIP systems, companies do not have to worry about business continuity at all. In most cases, the vendor will upgrade the hardware behind the scenes and most clients will not even be aware of the change until they start using new features.

No Need to Purchase Software Upgrade Licenses

Unless a company uses open source software, it will have to pay for upgrades periodically. However organizations that use hosted VoIP do not have to worry about purchasing or updating software either.

Software updates, security patches and bug fixes will usually be applied by the provider during scheduled maintenance to minimize any effects on clients.

Pay Less for More

The VoIP provider can amortize the cost of new equipment or software over more customers than the typical business. This – along with cloud efficiencies – is one of the many reasons they are able to provide new features periodically, at a fraction of the cost when compared to on premise solutions.

With hosted VoIP, organizations can rest assured that they get the best features in a timely and cost-effective manner. For companies that are concerned about obsolescence, hosted VoIP is surely the way to go.