Hosted PBX Services Demystified

Hosted PBX is a widely used term today with different interpretations and definitions. Each business VoIP service provider has implemented their own versions of what they believe is a hosted PBX system and this has led to confusion and misconceptions in the marketplace. Here, we would like to better define what Junction Networks mean by Hosted PBX.

OnSIP Hosted PBX is a business communications web service, delivered over a data connection. OnSIP Hosted PBX is unique in that it is truly a web service with no PBX hardware to manage at your end.

There is no single point of failure for “your” PBX, no single instance of an Asterisk server or other IP PBX installed on a single physical server and no single network component that can fail and cause “your” PBX instance to have personal problems. Instead, your PBX service is managed along with our largest customers on a single platform, with completely redundant databases, servers, routers and Internet connections. Your hosted pbx service does not run on a single box that can fail and bring your service to a screeching halt.

Compare OnSIP with competitors in the same field.

With OnSIP Hosted PBX, you can expect:

• A completely scalable service – Technically, there is no difference between you adding 500 new users or 500 customers adding 1 user. Add users at will.

  

• Redundancy – Every hosted PBX account is delivered across a farm of servers, routers and network components. Your service does not rely on any singular point of failure.

• Reliability - You will never hear us tell you that someone else on your shared server caused a problem, that has impacted your service.

Other Definitions of Hosted PBX

Our OnSIP Hosted PBX service delivery model is in sharp contrast to what many other business VoIP service providers are calling hosted PBX. In many instances, service providers are simply installing individual instances of Asterisk or other IP PBXs on individual servers. In this model, it is in the best interest of the provider to oversubscribe the number of users on a particular piece of hardware, much like a shared server at a hosting provider, often at the expense of service quality and reliability.

Be careful! This alternate approach comes with issues such as:

• Your PBX service may fail if the physical server you are installed on goes down.

• Other “tenants” on your assigned server can overwhelm the server and cause your service to fail.

• Maintenance and upgrades, both planned and unplanned, can impact your continuity of service.

With OnSIP Hosted PBX, you leverage our entire redundant and reliable platform and all of it’s capacity with our largest and smallest customers!