When choosing a phone system, businesses are often faced with one critical decision:
Go with an on-premise or cloud-based solution?
With an on-premise solution, your phone system is centrally stored at your location, and you’re responsible for service and maintenance. On the other hand, a cloud-based solution uses your Internet connection to connect to the cloud, requiring no additional hardware except for phones.
Let’s take a look at the features of both options, to help you decide which is a better fit for your business.
On-Premise
Costs
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Up to 40% more costly than cloud-based, requiring cabling, hardware, closet space, electricity, & cooling
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Pay in advance for planned growth
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Multiple locations require multiple systems
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Pay for all upgrades and maintenance
Installation
Time-intensive setup, requiring the installation of significant hardware
Scalability
Harder to scale, requiring thorough planning (and detailed, accurate forecasting)
Takes weeks or months to add or delete phone lines
Maintenance
Requires an IT specialist to manage & make changes
Upgrading Feature
Time to market varies
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Upgrades require manual updates from an IT specialist
Mobility
Mobile compatibility is complex & expensive
Disaster Recovery
Redundancy is possible, but costly
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Recovery is typically slower, negatively impacting customer experience
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Geo-redundancy, while possible, requires double the space, hardware, software, and capital
Cloud-Based
Costs
No hardware costs except the phones themselves
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Pay only for what you need and use
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Multiple locations are supported by one phone system in the cloud
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Most features and upgrades are included in cost
Installation
Quick and easy setup and installation due to minimal hardware deployment
Scalability
Scales to your needs as you grow, using exactly what you need, when you need it
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Phone lines can be added or deleted quickly
Maintenance
Other than phones, no maintenance required
Upgrading Features
Time to market is immediate
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All upgrades are made available automatically through the cloud
Mobility
Anyone can connect from multiple devices
Disaster Recovery
Built-in failover in the event of Internet or power loss
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Calls automatically rerouted to other data centers so customer experience is not affected
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Geo-redundancy is built in, with no need for a capital outlay for space, hardware, or software
