In our last two tutorials, we introduced the concept of the Hosted PBX, where the telephone switching function is moved from the customer’s premises to an application service provider (ASP). We also considered some of the benefits that could be derived from handing off this switching function (and all of its management implications) to an application service provider, or ASP).
In this tutorial, we will examine the marketplace for hosted services, in an effort to determine both the breadth and depth of hosted PBX offerings—and look at some of the issues that need to be addressed if you are considering adopting this technology.