If you have a poor-performing phone system or a phone system that is not secure, your employees may not be able to work efficiently or maximize their productivity.
An on-premise phone service may be an option to fix these challenges but it is important to find out the potential problems of the service before purchasing so you know if it will be the right fit for your organization.
Coeo has delivered thousands of on-premise phone systems and knows just how important a reliable phone system is to an organization.
We want to give you information on the potential problems with on-premise phone systems so you can make a better-educated decision on whether it is the best solution for your organization.
By the end of this article, you will know what on-premise phone systems are, the problems that can arise with having an on-premise phone system, and how your organization can avoid or combat these problems.
What is an on-premise phone system?
An on-premise phone system, also known as a PBX, is a physical phone system that resides at the customer’s location and is owned by the customer.
This also means that the customer is responsible for all upgrades and maintenance required to operate the phone system.
An on-premise phone system is set up at your company’s physical location which means the data server of the phone system resides in your office.
This means your IT team will be the group to maintain, manage and update your on-premise phone service when necessary. This can benefit your company because your IT team may know your network better than a phone service provider.
This allows your company to control the phone system and personalize it to your organization depending on your company’s needs.
However, with the on-premise phone system, your company is responsible for managing and maintaining your phone system and providing updates on your own.
Not only does this include the management and maintenance of the server but also any software and hardware that is part of your on-premise phone system. Data backups, disaster recovery, and any other issues that arise are the responsibility of your organization.
Potential Problems with an on-premise phone system
When it comes to an on-premise phone system, some problems can arise if you use this service. Some of these problems include a lack of scalability and the risk of out-of-date hardware.
● Lack of scalability
An on-premise phone system can handle multiple phones and can scale to thousands of phones. However, some systems are only able to support a specified number of phones.
If you exceed the number of phones your phone service can support, your expenses for the system will increase exponentially.
Because of this, if you are looking to scale your business over the next few years you should look into your phone service to see how many phones it’s capable of handling.
If you do not check your phone system’s limitations, you could run into issues and not be able to add as many phones to your growing business as you might need.
● Out-of-date hardware
If your legacy system is out of date, it can be expensive to purchase hardware for your service. Since the legacy system’s hardware is so out of date, it can be difficult to find parts to fix the hardware when needed so the prices for outdated hardware are high.
This can also affect the software of the phone system. If your hardware is out of date and no longer available, the software typically also cannot be updated, managed, and maintained.
● Lack of data and reporting
Data and reporting can be difficult to figure out with an on-premise phone system. Because the hardware for on-premise phones is often outdated, it does not have the necessary software to report data and analytics on your phone systems.
How your organization can fix the problems of on-premise phone systems
While many of these problems that on-premise phone systems bring to an organization are difficult to avoid, there are some things your company can do to fix these problems.
It is important to know that on-premise phone systems are in most cases more expensive upfront than other phone systems on the market.
Investing more money into your phone system is also how you fix the problems that arise with your on-premise phone system.
For example, in order to fix your out-of-date hardware, more investment is required. In addition, to fix the issue with the lack of reporting of an on-premise phone system, you can choose to not track your phone system or invest in extra software or hardware to help report on data and analytics.
It is also important that you know your company's needs in both the short and medium term. For instance, since on-premise phone systems are hard to scale up, it may be a good idea to invest in a system that you know can scale to your company’s growth.
Next steps to purchasing an on-premise phone system
Now you know what an on-premise phone system is, the problems you can experience with an on-premise phone system, and how to address the problems.
This will allow you to make a better purchasing decision when it comes to choosing an on-premise solution for your new phone system.
No one wants to purchase a phone system or any other service without knowing the potential problems that can occur with the service.
If you purchase a service without fully researching the problems of the service, you could end up purchasing a solution that is not the right fit for your organization.
Coeo has helped thousands of customers with their phone systems and knows how important a good phone service is to an organization.
We want to make sure you know the information on the potential problems of on-premise phone systems so you know if it is a good fit for your organization.
If you would like to speak with our team to talk about the on-premise phone systems and how to update them or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment. 
Read this article to learn more about the differences between on-premise and cloud phone systems:
