A centrally hosted phone system, where it fits your business.
Solutions · Business Communications · Business Telephony · Cloud / Hosted
A cloud or hosted business phone system is operated by a specialist supplier rather than running on a phone-system server at your premises.
When hosted telephony may be appropriate
A hosted system may suit organisations that want to avoid owning and maintaining central phone-system equipment, need people to work from different locations, or want several sites or teams to use one centrally managed service.
Cloud is an option, not a default
The service, connectivity, commercial model and operating requirements should fit the organisation. A hosted design should be compared with the practical alternatives rather than assumed to be the modern answer.
What moves to the supplier, and what does not
Customer-side dependencies remain
Suitable internet connectivity, local networking, electrical power, compatible devices, applications and configuration still matter to the user experience and service availability.
Supplier-operated platform
The supplier maintains the central service, which can reduce the amount of central phone-system equipment the customer needs to own and maintain.
Office, home, mobile and hot-desking working
The precise capabilities depend on the selected system, applications and subscription and must be confirmed during design.
- Physical handsets: desk, conference and cordless phones (DECT)
- Mobile app
- Softphone on desktop or laptop PC
- Microsoft Teams Integration
Design calls and resilience deliberately
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Business-grade internet access
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Wired and Wi-Fi network quality
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Power and user devices
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Firewall settings
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Hosted-service availability
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Alternative connectivity where justified
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Mobile working during site disruption
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Agreed failover behaviour
Number transfers and legacy services
Number porting is the process of transferring an existing telephone number from the current provider to the new service. Existing telephone services should not be cancelled until the port has completed successfully.
Legacy line-connected services, including lift alarm lines or elevator remote monitoring systems, alarm signalling, telecare, warden call systems, personal triggers and monitoring services, should be checked with the relevant supplier. Older fax equipment also requires specific compatibility assessment.
Implementation and supplier boundaries
FVC Solutions can assess requirements, design the service, plan number transfers, configure users and call flows, coordinate supported devices, implement the agreed solution, provide training and handover, and provide ongoing support or management where agreed.
For supported deployments, FVC Solutions can act as the customer's first point of contact for agreed first-line support, with eligible service issues escalated to the relevant supplier. Internet connectivity, local networking, devices and third-party applications may sit outside the hosted-service supplier's responsibility.
Emergency calling
Business telephony services may depend on mains power, internet connectivity, network equipment and correctly configured telephone services.
Calls to 999 and 112 should be available from appropriately configured services, but emergency-calling behaviour can vary depending on the telephone system, provider, device and location.
If phones, applications or users move between sites or are used remotely, the location information associated with an emergency call may not reflect the caller’s actual location. Callers should therefore clearly state their location and provide a reliable callback number.
Customers should keep site and service-location information up to date and consider how emergency calls will be made during a power, internet or equipment failure.
In an emergency, call 999 or 112. Do not contact FVC Solutions instead of the emergency services.
Check whether hosted telephony fits the complete operation
We can compare recurring service costs, dependencies, flexibility and support arrangements with the alternatives before you commit.