Intro
First, let’s start with what the heck is a PBX? In telecom jargon, PBX stands for private branch exchange. It’s really just private telephone network for an organization to use, where everyone inside can communicate internally and externally. A deeper dive can be found here.
What’s the difference between hosted and on-premise PBX?
When you have a hosted PBX (also Hosted Voice or VoIP) the provider takes care of and operates your phone system and the technology you need to run that system. In other words, they “host” it.
This means that a hosted PBX like Pilot Voice will run in the cloud, and all the features that come with your phones would work over our network. You don’t have to worry about programming, maintenance, or upgrades since those things would all be in the provider’s hands.
One of the best things about choosing a hosted PBX is the ability to scale, since your provider would take care of everything like getting and installing equipment.
An on-site PBX (also on-premise PBX or IP-PBX) has a bit more baggage. In this case, your company would be responsible for choosing, installing, and maintaining the hardware needed. All of this would physically sit in your office, typically in a server or IT room. And over time, you would be responsible for maintenance, software, regular updates, and the like.
