Simply put, Hosted VoIP is the most flexible of phone system and service options businesses have today. Businesses can literally never worry about their phone system constraints again. Consider business applications or purchases that can be deployed for companies at the Entrepreneurial stage through the established Enterprise stage. The list is few.
How is it possible that a phone system can work for a small entrepreneur and take that same 
entrepreneur's business throughout its life cycle? First, the very nature of a hosted phone system is that it provides the infrastructure to the business over the internet. The only equipment deployed by the business are the phones themselves. Therefore, the business never needs to worry about "sizing" the system to meet current and future demands. Second, because the features of the hosted phone service are vast enough to meet enterprise level requirements, the entrepreneur and small business gets to take advantage of these higher level features throughout their business life cycle. They do not need to scrimp on system requirements or overbuild for their level of needs.
Such a platform leads to many advantages to these entrepreneurs and all growing businesses:
- Low Capital Outlay - Because you do not need to purchase a phone system or switch, the only capital outlay for a hosted phone service is the exact number of IP phones you need today. Keep in mind that whether you have just a single phone or a handful to start, you still have the full feature set of a robust, enterprise-level phone system.
- Grow as You Grow - As the business grows, you only need to add phones/users as you have the employees on board. Again, the system will expand as large as you need it to be. Hosted providers typically charge for the monthly phone service by phone or user, so your monthly costs will only increase as your business increases. Many providers offer a declining rate per user depending upon how many phones are deployed. Thus, your phone system and service always is in an exact match to your company's size.
- Freedom of Location - As businesses grow, they find themselves moving to larger locations or adding additional locations. All businesses need to have in place is a high speed internet connection, and the phones can move from one location to another. You don't have to be concerned with moving a switch or even buying a new system. Nor is downtime a concern. All of this can be well coordinated with your hosted provider. Adding locations, whether in the same city or outside of the area, is not an issue at all with Hosted VoIP service. All phones have direct dial numbers consistent with their location and you can extension dial between phones. Phones in all locations can be tied into call flows or ring groups from a primary main line for the business. There's simply a tremendous amount of flexibility Hosted VoIP provides a growing business.
- No Obsolescence - Business do not need to worry about their phone switch becoming obsolete. It is incumbent upon the provider to maintain the system with a progressing set of features to meet future requirements and capabilities. The phones themselves can be upgraded down the road, but the original models can still be in service for as long as they operate or remain compliant with the host system. Thus, telecom obsolescence is off the table from an entrepreneur's perspective.
Every entrepreneur or leader of a growing business loves flexibility, especially when it comes to infrastructure decisions. Choosing a Hosted VoIP system and service will be one decision that will provide such flexibility and deliver advantages throughout the lifecycle of the business.
About the author: Mark Greim is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at sipVine, a provider of a variety of VoIP phone solutions and services. Mark has extensive experience working for start-up or entrepreneurial organizations and has a passion for affordable, reliable, and purposeful technology solutions in those environments.
