Can Virtual PBX Genuinely Change How Compact Firms Are Run?

Izvor: KiWi

Everywhere you turn lately it seems like the expression "in the cloud" has taken on some strange magnetic pull or force all its personal. Net users, enterprise owners and firms of all sizes, are being bombarded with "cloud" or "virtual" services that are hosted on remote servers far removed from one's place of enterprise.

Based on Gartner, a properly respected facts technology advisory and analysis business, several of the leading cloud providers now involve Amazon, Google, HP, AT&T, IBM and Microsoft. In addition, in a recent survey, Gartner found 19% of firms are using the cloud for most of their production computing and 20% use it for storage.

However, these cloud solutions are just, not for storage or computing, we also have other business enterprise solutions http://virtualphonesystemsolutions.com/ inside the clouds. Online or Internet fax is growing in popularity as more and more providers and corporations modernize or update their means of communication in our computer driven world. Then you also have virtual phone and PBX (Private Branch Exchange) services for the home office and firms both big and modest.

Perhaps, the greatest force driving all these "cloud" services, is our insatiable need to be completely portable and mobile in today's current wireless environment. We simply need the ability to do our work anywhere and at any time - regardless of location. It may even be argued any company or smaller business without this ability has already lost a competitive edge or advantage over their competitors.

This factor is brought home when one considers the benefits of using a virtual PBX vs a conventional land-line system. Going with a cloud based system gives your enterprise much more flexibility and scalability. You can be completely mobile and wireless, regardless of where your employees or salespersons are located.

Then you have to factor within the much lower costs of running a virtual system, there's no expensive hardware to install or maintain. Set-up is almost instant, and there's only one low monthly fee to pay. Plus, all of these virtual systems are full-featured - you get voice mail, call waiting, message forwarding, online fax... and even a virtual receptionist to handle all your business enterprise communications.

One on the major drawbacks for most people has to do with online security. How safe will your company's vital information be when stored on a remote server? Do I seriously want my data and communications accessible on the internet?

We all have heard horror stories of sites being hacked and details stolen, but for the most part, online security has improved greatly over the last few years, and the major "cloud service" providers mentioned above are completely professional. Sad truth, most corporations store their data on computers, which can be accessed from the Internet, depending on the security measures you have in spot, your details could be MORE safe with one of these solutions supplied by Google, IBM, Amazon or Microsoft.

Regardless, anyone running a home office or a enterprise, must consider using the "cloud" to do their computing and storage. The lower costs, the complete mobility, the ease of use, the complete flexibility/scalability, the greater competitiveness and instant set-up... all have to be factored into one's decision. It is probably a safe bet that inside the future, more corporations and corporations will be hosting their computing, storage and virtual PBX phone solutions within the cloud.