Hosted PBX Details
Key Definitions
In the past, most phone systems required buying hardware and paying someone to install and maintain it. With Hosted PBX, your phone service is delivered from Matrix Communications’ datacenters. All you have to do is buy the phones and connect them to the Internet.
If you’re new to the world of cloud phones, here are the top 10 definitions you need to know:
→ Hosted phone system. Let’s start with the obvious one. This is a service for which the calling platform and features are hosted at the service provider location—as opposed to in a server that resides in a closet at your office. With a hosted system, your employees connect to the system via “IP deskphones” (see below) that plug into the Internet. They can make calls to any traditional telephone. The benefit of a hosted system is that it’s simple to setup and manage because you don’t have to worry about equipment. It also saves you a lot of up-front money.
→ IP deskphone. This is a phone that makes and receives telephone calls over an “IP” network, such as the Internet. That’s instead of making calls over the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN).
→ Voice over IP (VoIP). This is a methodology and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Which is a complicated way of saying that your voice goes over the Internet, instead of over the phone lines.
→ Mobile softphone. This is an app that lets a smartphone make and receive calls over the business network, using the same phone number as your IP deskphone.
→ Flat, per-user monthly pricing. This is how most hosted phone systems are priced: with a single per user, per month rate that covers all aspects of the hosted phone service. (Excluding international calls and some other fees, of course.)
→ Web-based management tool. You manage your hosted system by logging in to an online control panel. Administrators can manage moves, adds and changes with just a few clicks. They can control all settings, including auto attendant menus, hunt group setup, and more. They can also administer multiple offices and remote users from anywhere.
→ Automated attendant. This service performs telephone console attendant functions such as answering a call, transferring callers to specific user stations, directing callers to voicemail, etc… all without the assistance of a live attendant
→ Hunt groups. This service rings multiple people at once to ensure no call goes unanswered. The system sequentially searches through the hunt group list to find an inactive line, and will then ring that line.
→ Follow Me. This feature automatically forwards calls to mobile phones and other numbers, or rings multiple numbers at the same time.
→ Voicemail-to-email and fax-to-email. This feature ensures messages get through faster. Users can save, delete and forward voicemail messages and faxes just like with any email.
What About Reliability?
Moving to the cloud improves the reliability of your voice system. That’s because they stay running even if your local lines are knocked out by a storm or a power outage. What’s more, Matrix Communications guarantees 99.999% up-time.
Save 50% or More
For small and medium-sized businesses, our Hosted PBX service shifts the cost of your phone system to your operating budget. There’s no need to tie up your capital in on-premise hardware that quickly depreciates and requires frequent maintenance.
→ Monthly flat per-user rates start at just $29.99
→ Includes unlimited calling anywhere in the US
→ No hardware to buy beyond the phones and adapters
→ No charges for software licenses, system maintenance, features, upgrades, support or migration
→ Offload the costs of security and business continuity
→ Get 0% financing for 12 months to minimize your capital outlay
→ Cut the burden of managing multiple vendors by integrating voice, email, chat and more with Matrix Communications’ Office in the Cloud
Keep Your Phone Numbers
It’s simple to move to Hosted PBX. We work with you to port over your phone numbers with no disruption to your business. Our Cloud Concierge team actually migrates around 5,000 phone numbers to our service every single month.
Our Cloud Concierge™ team is here to help you get up and running—including dealing with the phone company to switch your phone numbers.
→ You’re ready for business the moment you plug in your phones
→ We port over your current phone numbers—including toll-free numbers—so there’s no need to change your contact information
→ We set up your users and ensure a smooth transition
→ We work at your direction and let you dictate the pace
Voice Quality Testing
Before we’ll sell you a single Hosted PBX line, Matrix Communications will ask you to take a free voice quality test. If you’re talking to other providers, you’ll note that our test is more comprehensive and longer-lasting than the rest.
That’s deliberate. In order to help assure the best experience for people calling on your network, we’re going to put it through a stringent testing process. This is how we help ensure excellent calling quality even when your network is congested from file downloads or video streaming.
What is Voice Quality Testing?
Voice quality test helps make sure that your network can support the additional load caused by VoIP phone traffic.
In the testing process, we’ll drive rigorous voice and data traffic to your network to simulate real-life loads.
To perform the test, we will do the following:
→ Set up a phone simulation software on your network
→ Tune the software to the number of phones you are looking to buy
→ Run the simulation as if all phones are being used for three full days, in parallel with your regular network tasks
→ Capture all network traffic information and analyze it
More Rigorous Testing than Most Other Providers
We hold ourselves to an extremely high standard. One of the key differences in how we test is that we’ll perform our simulation over three full days. This is important because the traffic on your network often varies depending on the time of day and even the day of the week.
For example, think about when you perform system backups or transfer big files to your customers. These tasks create congestion in your network that could impact voice calling quality. And a short test will not detect them.
What We’re Testing For
Our engineers analyze the stream of data packets (those bits of digitized information that flow through the network) along the following criteria:
→ Bandwidth. We’ll verify that your actual bandwidth is sufficient for both data and voice traffic.
→ Packet loss. If packets are dropped on their way to their destination because of network congestion, there will be interruptions to your conversation. We need to spot it ahead of time.
→ Latency. This is when packets take too long to get to the other side, which causes delays in the conversation. Any delay over 60 milliseconds is noticeable and disruptive.
→ Jitter. Jitter is when data packets arrive in different order or at a different pace from when they were sent. If not corrected, jitter causes a noticeable drop in the quality of the phone call.
→ Complete connectivity disruption. A complete disruption of the network connection will naturally cause calling problems.
What If We Find Problems?
In more than 90% of the tests we perform, we find no issues.
But when we do find problems, we do two things: first, we recommend that you hold off on your buying decision until you adjust your network environment. And second, we formulate a plan to fix the issues.
In some cases, this is as simple as adjusting your back-up schedule. In other cases, we need to work with your Internet provider—and we’ll actually join calls and reach out to the provider on your behalf to sort out the technical issues.
Learn More About Hosted Phone Systems
Still have questions? Learn more about Matrix Communications’ Hosted PBX service by asking an expert at: