In short
Hosted VoIP is a business phone system that runs in the cloud and carries calls over your internet connection. Users make and take calls in apps or on desk phones, and the provider looks after the system. Forever Systems, a 3CX Partner, hosts and sets up 3CX as a hosted VoIP phone system for UK organisations.
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What hosted VoIP means
A hosted VoIP phone system, also called cloud VoIP, moves the phone system itself out of your building. The software that routes calls runs on servers in a data centre; your office only needs an internet connection and the apps or phones people use.
That changes who does the work. With an on-site system, your organisation owns a box, its maintenance and its updates. With hosted VoIP, the system is kept running and up to date for you, and you manage users and call flows from a web console or ask us to.
How a hosted VoIP phone system works
- A caller dials your numberFrom any landline or mobile
- The SIP trunk delivers the callFrom the phone network to your hosted system
- The hosted phone system applies your rulesOpening hours, menu, ring group or queue
- Your people answerIn the web client, an app or on a desk phone, at any site
Outgoing calls take the same route in reverse. How does VoIP work explains the signalling and audio underneath.
Hosted VoIP and on-site systems compared
| Hosted VoIP phone system | On-site phone system | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | A data centre, reached over the internet | A server or appliance in your building |
| Maintenance | Looked after for you | Yours, or a maintenance contract |
| Home and mobile working | Built in: users sign in from anywhere | Needs remote access to the site |
| Adding users or sites | A change in the console | May need hardware or line changes |
| If the office loses power or internet | Mobile apps keep working; calls can divert | The system is offline with the site |
VoIP PBX explains the terms hosted PBX, cloud PBX and IP PBX and how they relate.
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Our hosted VoIP service: hosted 3CX
Our hosted VoIP phone system is hosted 3CX. We arrange the hosting, build the system around your call flows, connect a SIP trunk with your numbers and look after the system with you. What we manage, including updates and backups, is set out in your quote.
Users get the 3CX web client and the Windows, iOS and Android apps. Call queues, recording, CRM integration and AI features depend on the edition, which 3CX editions compares. The licence is annual and per system, sized by simultaneous calls; 3CX pricing explains how that works.
What hosted VoIP needs from your site
- A connection with enough upload for your busiest number of calls at once
- A router and firewall set up for voice, which usually means SIP ALG off and voice given priority
- Power backup for the router and switches where calls must continue through a short power cut
- A plan for anything else on the old lines, such as alarms, lifts and card terminals
The VoIP requirements checklist covers each one, and we check them before go-live.
Is hosted VoIP the right fit for you?
Tell us what you have today and we will recommend the right set-up, with a quote.
Moving to hosted VoIP
A move is usually done in stages: the new system is built and tested alongside the old one, users try the apps, and then the numbers are ported on an agreed date. Switching your business landline to VoIP sets out the steps, and VoIP phone system installation explains what we do at each one.
How Forever Systems helps with a VoIP phone system
We supply, host, set up and support 3CX phone systems. Forever Systems is a 3CX Partner.
- 3CX sized for you: the edition and the number of simultaneous calls matched to how your team takes calls
- Hosting and set-up: 3CX hosted for you, with call flows, users, queues and voicemail configured
- A requirements check of your broadband, network and router settings before anything goes live
- Numbers and porting: we can help you keep your existing business numbers and plan the move away from analogue and ISDN lines
- Changes afterwards: help with moves, adds and changes as your team grows
3CX works with the 3CX apps and with Yealink and Poly desk phones. We work with businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations.
Frequently asked questions
What is hosted VoIP?
Hosted VoIP is a business phone system that runs in the cloud instead of on equipment in your office. Calls travel over your internet connection, users answer in apps or on desk phones, and the system is maintained for you.
Is hosted VoIP the same as cloud VoIP?
In everyday use, yes. Both describe a VoIP phone system that runs in a data centre and is reached over the internet. Some people use cloud for systems shared by many customers and hosted for a system run for one customer, but buyers can treat the terms as the same.
What is a hosted VoIP phone system built on?
Ours is built on 3CX, a software phone system. We host it, set it up and connect it to the phone network with a SIP trunk that carries your numbers.
Do I need new broadband for hosted VoIP?
Often not. What matters is enough upload speed and steady latency for your busiest number of calls at once. We check your connection before go-live and suggest changes only where calls would suffer.
What happens to hosted VoIP calls in a power cut?
The hosted system keeps running in the data centre. Mobile apps carry on over mobile data, and calls can be diverted to mobiles or another site. A UPS on the router and switches keeps office phones working through a short cut.
Can hosted VoIP cover several offices?
Yes. Every site and home worker signs in to the same hosted system, so extensions, queues and transfers work across locations without links between buildings.
Still have a question about Hosted VoIP?
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