Should I Get An Onsite Phone System or Put It In the Cloud?

The answer may be yes!

KME Systems has been deploying IP onsite based phone systems since 1998 and Cloud based systems since 2010.   There are plenty of great articles outlining the benefits of Cloud and onsite, but let’s concentrate on how a hybrid solution may be the most effective use of both technologies.

Take for example a recent client of ours.  They had a central location with 100 phones and 5 branch offices throughout the USA with about 10 employees at each satellite office.  They asked us to design a phone solution and they were a little surprised when we came back with their own internal Cloud solution.  We deployed an onsite PBX, utilized their own WAN to deliver “cloud phones” to the remote offices and gave them absolute control over the process.   Headquarters and the branch offices could easily communicate, transfer calls, have a combined call center solution, unified reporting, etc.   The client simply didn’t realize the answer to their problem of whether to use Cloud or onsite was yes!

Another similar option is to use a manufacturer that can combine onsite with their own Cloud offering to give you the best of both worlds.  You can have an onsite solution paired with their cloud option that gives the same feature set and operational control no matter if a remote office is 1 person or 20.  This is a great option for larger headquarter site with smaller offices sprinkled throughout the world and you don’t want the expense of a robust WAN.  You can get an onsite solution for the larger office and combine the manufacturer’s integrated cloud offering for a total solution.

Also, don’t forget such powerful options, such as Skype, that can be integrated as well allowing employees, vendors and clients to quickly and easily communicate with you.   Ask your potential vendor to analyze how you use the phones, where your employee’s are and how they communicate.  You may be surprised at your options.

Comments?  Questions?  You can reach out to KME systems here!

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