Preparing your business for disaster with hosted PBX
Disaster preparedness is essential for any business, particularly those reliant on technology to operate. You are likely well aware that if your network goes down, your entire business can screech to a halt, but did you know that with a hosted private branch exchange (PBX) your business’s telecommunications will still be functioning whether you are beset by a mere power outage or knocked for six by a natural disaster?
Your telephone system will not get totaled
Hosted PBX uses cloud-based technology to connect your business, rather than traditional telephone lines like a conventional telephone system, which is what makes it a powerful tool when it comes to disaster preparedness.
By definition, the main part of your phone system is not based on your premises with hosted PBX - it is held elsewhere. This means that, should disaster strike, your telecommunications will not be put out of action, as they would with a conventional telephone system. Instead, you would be able to continue operating almost as usual, even if your premises were completely inaccessible, as your employees would be able to connect to your hosted PBX wherever they were.
With hosted PBX, the bulk of your telecommunications hardware is located in your provider’s premises, which will have been strengthened to withstand disaster more than your average business premises. Hosted PBX also uses redundancy - duplications of crucial parts and functions - ensuring that even if anything essential fails at the provider’s end, there is a back-up in place.
You can redirect calls
If your business premises are struck by disaster, one of the biggest problems is finding a way for your business to continue operating, which is crucial in minimizing the impact of the disaster on it. After all, if your network has been crippled, you cannot communicate with customers, clients, partners or suppliers.
With hosted PBX, you can transfer and redirect calls to employees in other locations, whether they are using telephones, smartphones, desktop computers, laptops or even tablets, or to voicemail. This means your business can either inform callers about the situation or continue to operate as normal in the event of a power shortage, power cut, network outage or your premises being inaccessible.
You do not have to pay for new equipment
If your premises fall prey to bad weather, vandalism, burglary or fire, hosted PBX will save you an enormous amount of money as your business looks to recover. That is because traditional telephone systems often involve investing in a wide range of expensive hardware, which will need to be replaced in the event of a disaster in order to restore your business’s telecommunications.
However, with hosted PBX you would barely have to worry about the cost of replacing equipment should such a fate befall your business. Hosted PBX comes with minimal baggage - because it utilizes cloud-based technology, there would be little equipment on your business premises to replace beyond the telephones themselves, cutting a potentially large cost and freeing up capital that can be put to use elsewhere in your disaster recovery budget.
Built-in disaster recovery
Primus Business hosted PBX has built-in failover and disaster recovery that will keep your business’s telecommunications operational should calamity befall it. While hosted PBX typically allows you to manually reroute inbound calls at any given time, the built-in disaster recovery of Primus Business hosted PBX means it will automatically do this the instant your company is hit by a power cut, network outage or catastrophe, ensuring you do not experience any downtime.
Hosted PBX is not the be all and end all when it comes to disaster recovery, but it is can play a huge role in helping your business survive a disaster by ensuring your telecommunications are functioning and that your business is able to continue operating, no matter what.
Find out more about what Primus Business hosted PBX can do for your business.
