Voice

A Hybrid Phone System: Is It The Best of Both Worlds?

March 10, 2016

Companies today understand the many benefits of changing over to a Unified Communications (UC) solution, but many are unable to do so because of the one-size-fits-all approach. They need something that’s easy to manage and control but is also cost-efficient and robust. Many want the flexibility of a hosted system partnered with the reliability of a traditional on-site solution. For many companies, an outdated PBX simply doesn’t work for their organization anymore. For small to medium-sized businesses, the systems don’t provide the features or functionalities needed to communicate effectively. For large organizations, the problem is magnified as location restrictions and remote employees are forcing the shift to a single system that offers all the features and reliability they need. The solution to both of these problems is a hybrid phone system.

What Does Hybrid Actually Mean?

To define more clearly, a hybrid VoIP solution is an option that provides the ability for businesses to upgrade to VoIP technologies using an on-site phone system. This hybrid technology provides the ability to manage, monitor and adjust the phone system on-site, but also comes with the features and cost savings that a traditional PBX simply can’t offer.

SaaS vs. Cloud

Software as a Service (SaaS) is software distribution where the company applications are hosted by the vendor/service provider, and are provided to the customer over a specific network — usually the internet. When running SaaS applications, some might say they run within the cloud, which is correct, but it is not the cloud itself. So, what’s the difference? Well, the cloud provides resources for computing that is not dedicated to a defined location. It consists of virtual servers or computers, capacity for data storage, messaging and development environments. So, the primary difference is that SaaS offerings include fully-formed, end-user applications. The cloud is the rentable computing service and infrastructure.

ShoreTel, SaaS, and Hybrid Solutions

SaaS is changing how IT handles their phone systems. Virtual systems delivered completely through the cloud like ShoreTel Connect Cloud are helping businesses realize the amount of time, money, resources, maintenance and application upgrades that can be minimized when handled by the service provider instead of IT staffers. To learn more about a Hybrid Phone System that ATI recommends click here.

Tags: Hybrid Phone System