Cloud-hosted vs. On-premises VoIP

Posted on Friday October 06, 2017

Business communication has come a long way since traditional landline calling. Today, it's all about internet-based phone systems, aka, VoIP. But before investing in VoIP phones, you need to determine how you plan to deploy them -- in the cloud or on-premises. Let's dig into the differences between the two options.

Installation and maintenance

On-premises VoIP phone systems are installed at your company's office, typically managed and maintained by your own personnel. While you can hire a third party to manage the phone system for you, what you can't avoid is the hardware cost of setting up your VoIP phones.

Cloud-based VoIP, on the other hand, means all the software and hardware are hosted and maintained by a VoIP provider. Other than the physical phones, everything else is provided virtually, which means you won't be bothered with expensive hardware costs nor will you need an in-house staff to manage the system.

But since all support requests must be addressed by your VoIP provider, service responsiveness and flexibility are crucial as they can directly impact your daily operations.

Security

You might think having on-premises VoIP is the obvious choice when it comes to security, and in one specific case that's very true. If you have vast IT resources, deploying VoIP on-premises gives you better security control since you will know your system's capabilities as well as every nooks and crannies.

But for small- to medium-sized businesses, cloud-hosted VoIP remains a favorable option because every aspect of security is taken care of by a provider whose reputation rests on maintaining the most stringent security measures. They are well-versed in identifying vulnerabilities, reducing the area of attacks, and protecting all entry points.

Control

On-premises solutions give you better control of your VoIP phones since you can design systems suited to your needs without relying on a third-party. This makes it a popular choice for larger enterprises with dedicated IT technicians needed to customize and manage the system.

With cloud-hosted VoIP, you relinquish certain control to your service provider, which is the price you pay for the convenience of professional deployment and maintenance. This, however, doesn't give your provider the right to monitor your calls or conduct any activity that breaches your business's confidentiality.

Scalability

With on-premises VoIP systems, you rely on your in-house personnel to add or remove features to accommodate your changing needs. There are various backend processes involved and every expansion often increases the complexity you have to manage yourself.

With a cloud-hosted solution, you'll have an entire team of technicians at your beck and call so features can be added or removed as needed. If you're anticipating future changes, cloud-hosted VoIP will be more effective in the long run.

Whether you're looking to host your VoIP phone systems on-premises or in the cloud, we can help make the process quick and painless. Just give us a call and we'll be happy to advise.