Is a Hosted PBX right for your business?

Let’s start by looking at what a Hosted PBX is, and then consider whether it’s right for your business. A hosted PBX, like Alltel SmartConnect®, provides all of the benefits of an expensive big business phone system for a fraction of the price. It’s the word “hosted” that makes all of the difference.

Instead of you having to pay to install and maintain costly PBX equipment at your office, Alltel looks after that side of things for you. You then access the system through your high-speed Internet connection. You make and receive calls in the same way you always have, except that you now have lots of new features and functions to play with. And Alltel looks after the physical phone system, monitoring things 24/7 to ensure reliable service, and updating the system to ensure you keep up-to-date with the latest advances in technology.

For Small Businesses

When you launch a new business, your resources are limited. You may be striking out on your own or be working with just one or two other people. Even though your team may be small, your ideas and potential are enormous! That’s the impression we’ll help you communicate to your customers.

Alltel's Hosted Business Phone System includes features that make your business appear larger and sound professional. For example, with our call forwarding menu, all of your calls are answered with a professional and consistent greeting designed to impress new customers and reassure them that they’re in the right place.

Making a good first impression should always be this easy! And if you’re running multiple businesses, each with its own business name and phone number, your phone can show you the name of the business the caller is trying to reach. This lets you answer the phone using the correct business name, plus you’ll know in advance which one of your businesses the caller is interested in.

For Medium Businesses

Things are booming, and you now have 15+ employees. To keep the momentum going, your business needs to operate efficiently and productively. That’s where Alltel can help. To start with, you don’t need to have all of your extensions in the same building. Want to open offices in different cities or states? No problems. Have some employees working from home offices? That’s fine too. As long as there’s a high-speed Internet connection available, you can scatter your extensions all across the country. There are also great features for growing businesses.

For example, Enhanced Call Queuing allows you to share incoming calls between a team of people. And at times where everyone is busy, callers can listen to your custom hold music or advertising messages while they’re waiting in the queue. The important thing for medium businesses is to make it easy for people to reach you. That’s what a Hosted Phone Solution is designed to do.

For Large Businesses and Enterprises

Congratulations! You’ve hit the big league. And even though you’re in a position where you can now afford to install your own phone solution, there are still some benefits you should consider that a Hosted Phone Solution will provide.

Any in-house solution will provide you with a set number of extensions. Hire one more person than you have available extensions, and it’s time to upgrade. With a hosted solution, you just let Alltel know you need one (or two or three) new extensions, and you’re off and running. And there are great features available that may not be available in all in-house systems.

For example, Caller ID overstamping allows you to fix caller ID for outgoing calls, which allows you to choose whether to display individual extension numbers or your main switchboard number. Call Recording allows you to monitor customer calls and measure results of your marketing campaigns.

Alltel’s web-based self management portal gives you total control over your system. You can add and reconfigure extensions in real time. You can also get detailed call reports, including getting details of callers while they’re still on the phone. Hook this up with your CRM system, and you can deliver a new level of customer service.

Hosted Business Phone System Features

Here's a list of some popular Hosted PBX features. You can find out more about Alltel SmartConnect® Hosted Business Phone System on our web site. Find out more about Alltel's SmartConnect® Hosted PBX systems.