ON-PREMISE VS. CLOUD-BASED
When choosing a phone system, businesses are often faced with one critical decision:
Go with an on-premise or cloud-based solution?
With an on-premise solution, your phone system is centrally stored at your location, and you’re responsible for service and maintenance. On the other hand, a cloud-based solution uses your Internet connection to connect to the cloud, requiring no additional hardware except for phones.
Let’s take a look at the features of both options, to help you decide which is a better
fit for your business.
| On-premise | Cloud-based |
| Costs | |
| • Up to 40% more costly than cloud-based, requiring cabling, hardware, closet space, electricity, & cooling • Pay in advance for planned growth • Multiple locations require multiple systems • Pay for all upgrades and maintenance | • No hardware costs except the phones themselves • Pay only for what you need and use • Multiple locations are supported by one phone system in the cloud • Most features and upgrades are included in cost |
| Installation | |
| • Time-intensive setup, requiring the installation of significant hardware | • Quick and easy setup and installation due to minimal hardware deployment |
| Scalability | |
| • Harder to scale, requiring thorough planning (and detailed, accurate forecasting) • Takes weeks or months to add or delete phone lines | • Scales to your needs as you grow, using exactly what you need, when you need it • Phone lines can be added or deleted quickly |
| Maintenance | |
| • Requires an IT specialist to manage & make changes | • Other than phones, no maintenance required |
| Upgrading Features | |
| • Time to market varies • Upgrades require manual updates from an IT specialist | • Time to market is immediate • All upgrades are made available automatically through the cloud |
| Mobility | |
| • Mobile compatibility is complex & expensive | • Anyone can connect from multiple devices |
| Disaster Recovery | |
| • Redundancy is possible, but costly • Recovery is typically slower, negatively impacting customer experience • Geo-redundancy, while possible, requires double the space, hardware, software, and capital | • Built-in failover in the event of Internet or power loss • Calls automatically rerouted to other data centers so customer experience is not affected • Geo-redundancy is built in, with no need for a capital outlay for space, hardware, or software |
