Top 9 Hosted PBX Phone Systems Providers in Malaysia

Virtual Private Branch Exchanges are a form of hosted PBX systems that allow companies to use a private branch exchange system without having to install the equipment and hardware necessary to use a PBX system locally. Virtual PBX systems are hosted and maintained by an outside party on an outside server. You simply need an internet connection and IP phones (or an ata adapter to connect an analog phone).

Cost are generally $25/concurrent connection (minutes included). If you need to have 5 concurrent simultaneous calls, expect to pay around $120/month. Be cautious of number porting policies (particularly porting a number out if you leave).

All of the functions of the PBX service that would normally take place at the location of business are performed by the virtual PBX service at their site, allowing businesses to save valuable time and money on a staff that would be required to maintain and operate a local PBX service.

Read More: Best Cloud Phone Service Providers For Small Business

Virtual PBX services have evolved from their beginnings to include some very advanced features now such as: voicemail to email services (some services transcribe the actual voicemail to text), voicemail to text notifications, call screening functions, call forwarding, call from website buttons, automated greetings, and more. New and advanced functions are always being released and improved upon by virtual PBX services.

The way that many virtual PBX services work is through VoIP (voice over internet protocol). VoIP allows data lines and IP networks to be used to transmit voice data.  The result of using VoIP is that virtual PBX services can use their own servers and other hardware to host the service without their clients ever having to deal with hardware or software problems.

Read More: Top 10 Office Phone Systems For Small Business

For most virtual PBX services, the first step that a new customer would perform is to choose one or more (if the service allows multiple numbers) toll-free or local numbers among those that are available. This is the number that would be shared among the employees of the organization.

Also, a business’s current number can be switched over to the service in many cases.  After the number is selected, the customer can choose between pricing levels and features that the business requires of that particular virtual PBX service.

Read More: Top 10 Cloud Based Call Center Software Vendors

How Do Virtual PBX Services Benefit Companies?

Virtual PBX services give small businesses a degree of professionalism and credibility.  For most if not all of the top virtual PBX services, there is no way for callers to tell the difference between them and a locally installed corporate quality PBX service.

Virtual PBX services allow companies to have a toll free number or local number for just tens of dollars per month. Toll-free numbers have been shown to increase sales for several types of businesses.

As mentioned previously, one of the major benefits of using virtual PBX is not having to deal with hardware installations, maintenance, or repairs at all. This can save a business literally thousands of dollars per year in staffing, overhead, and labor costs. Also, if a business has telecommuting employees, it is particularly useful that an employee can access calls directed to him or her at any location or time.

Read More: Top 10 Best VoIP Phone Service Providers for Small Business

Another major benefit is the time that virtual PBX services save for a business. Several of the phone functions that would require employees to perform by themselves can be automated with virtual PBX services. Also, virtual PBX services are usually set up very quickly and can sometimes be operational for a business in just a few days or less.

The wide variety of virtual PBX service plans and features currently available almost guarantees that there will be one that will fit a business’s needs. The large number of competitors for the virtual PBX market keeps the price levels on most virtual PBX services very reasonable. Checking reviews of different virtual PBX services can help a business decide which particular service will fit its needs the best.

If a business decides to use a virtual PBX service, they almost always will not have to change their current numbers. Their current numbers can be forwarded to the virtual PBX service to process all calls once it is set up.

Read More: Top 10 Best Hosted-Cloud Call Center Software

The combination of features, pricing, and quality of the top virtual PBX services gives the small businesses that use them a great advantage over their competition. With the ability to have most of the features of a professional local PBX service at a fraction of the cost, several businesses are making the choice to go with a virtual PBX service for their telephone network needs.

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Top Hosted PBX Phone Systems Providers in Malaysia:

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ASTERVOX

As one of the first cloud communication provider in Malaysia as well an early  innovator of cloud communications, Astervox saw a new way to revolutionize business phone systems using the power of the cloud. Astervox developed a virtual PBX (also known as cloud, hosted, or IP PBX) solution called Astervox VX, which surpasses the feature set of traditional PBX —voice, fax, voicemail, extensions, conferencing, paging, intercom calling, etc. — without the expense and limitations of hardware.

CALLACLOUD

Call-A-Cloud is a communications service provider specializing in the area of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony systems. We provide specifically developed VoIP based mobile applications for businesses with the intention of simplifying their complex communication needs and requirements.

REDTONE

REDtone SIPhony, an enterprise-grade, IP-based and cost-effective phone system that enables small and medium-sized businesses to obtain business landline numbers without a physical desk phone. Provides full suite of features in app form, including direct line, SIP, e-Fax, virtual receptionist, extensions and call recording. Enhances business credibility while providing up to 50% cost-savings. Offered via a prepaid model. No heavy hardware investment or contract tied to subscription.

ASTRAQOM

AstraQom is a leading multinational telecom provider serving business in over 100 countries. We offer cloud hosted PBX, SIP Trunks, IP PBX and more.

CLOUDPBX4U

CloudPBX4U is a well known Cloud hosted PBX and Next Generation (NGN) business service that provides you, your office with unified communication features.

NKHCONNECT

NKH Connect offer you 3CX Private Cloud IP-PBX telephony in Malaysia – Authorise “3CX Cloud Managed Hosting Partners” and “3CX Platinum Partners”. Now you can get 3CX Phone System in the cloud, and save on initial hardware, licensing, setup and maintenance costs. 

CAL4CARE

Cal4care offers a wide variety of VOIP Telephony products like 3CX Windows Phone System , Htek IP Phones, BeroNet Voip Gateway Malaysia.

SMARTPBX

smaRtPBX is Asterisk IP PBX and VoIP system provider in Malaysia. We provide IP PBX solution including Asterisk IP PBX, VoIP telephony, voice recording, call center, VoIP ivr, sip phone, sip trunk.

VOIP

VoIPdotMY is Malaysia one stop center for IP-Telephony products and solutions. We offer wide range of products and services like IP-PBX, IP-Phone, VoIP Gateways, SBC, VoIP headsets, Call center platform and VoIP Intercom products.

Virtual PBX vs. Premise PBX

PBX Systems allow you to set up extensions, customer management systems, auto-attendants, call redirects and more to route calls within and out of your organization. These operations are handled through a private branch exchange server (PBX). Virtual PBX serviceswill setup, maintain, and host your exchange server off-site and you simply buy IP phones and an internet connection to interact with a web-based administration panel. Premise (Self-Hosted) PBX brings the exchange server in-house (on premise). The benefits and trade-offs vary, but generally, virtual PBX services are for small businesses, and Self-Hosted PBX Systems are for medium and large businesses with heavy phone volume. You can use either analog phone lines or digital VoIP with Self-Host PBX. Virtual PBX services are limited to VoIP.

The general consensus is that Virtual PBX services are ideal for small businesses with 1-10 employees.  With virtual PBX, you are sharing the 3rd party exchange server with other people, thereby, sharing hardware & maintenance costs.  You must pin point your needs and carefully research your preferred virtual PBX provider.  Costs are generally between $30-120/month for complete packages (minutes included).  Extensions, may or may not be free depending on the provider. Your marginal cost will increase compared to self-hosted PBX systems as you add more users.

Virtual PBX systems will also provide you with SIP trunks & DIDs as opposed to securing your own. However, they may limit the number or channels or simultaneous calls your phone number can achieve (services vary).

For Self-Hosted PBX systems, you will need a server (with a PCI data port), configuration software (open source software such as Asterisk is free), broadband connection (t1 handles 30 simultaneous calls), and potentially a firewall or gateway. Some companies will supply all of the above into a package as opposed to buying each component individually. VoIP rate plans are provided through ITSPs (Internet Telephony Service Providers) and will charge at least $15/SIP Trunk per month and $1/DID per month (rate plans and bundles will vary by provider). As a general rule you should reserve channels (DIDs etc.) for 1/3 of your employees. If you have 300 employees, not all of them will be on the phone at all times.

Both virtual PBX providers and ITSPs (independant ITSPs are needed for premise PBX) will charge a similar amount ($20-30) to port your phone into their system. Be cautious of the terms and conditions associated with using supplied phone numbers.  Some providers will not let you port out supplied phone numbers. This can be problematic if you have advertised your phone number in the yellow pages or elsewhere and need to leave the service provider.

Bottomline: If you need over 15 simultaneous calls (over 45 employees), consider a self-hosted PBX system. If you are unfamiliar with PBX systems, spend at least 1 month researching your options before purchasing equipment and services (ensure compatibility and features). You will need compatible phones, server/software, firewall, data/voice internet service, and SIP/DID providers.

Many tout that self-hosted PBX hardware can cost as much as $60,000.  However, research what your company needs, as many hardware providers can sell a complete PBX setup (compatible phones & server/software installed) for smaller businesses in the area of $2500.

Depending on your needs and volume, a business-grade pipeline may be as high as $600/month. For the most part, simultaneous calls are limited to your bandwidth (say 23 simultaneous channels/T1). Additionally, some SIP providers will require a static IP.  With virtual PBX, companies may use a standard data internet connection which may not be pratical for large support/sales centers. However, both IP-PBX systems allow you to share the same bandwidth for both data and voice. Be sure to adjust your QoS (Quality of Service) settings to prioritize voice to avoid dropped calls and poor sound quality.

For both systems you may use SIP enabled IP phones or softphones. You may also use a traditional phone, but you will need an ATA adapter or a gateway for VoIP service (check interoperability closely). Self-hosted systems may require an SIP firewall.

As you can tell from the image above, you are committing yourself to security and reliability risk. With virtual PBX, you are using a server and service that is outside your control.

With self-hosted PBX, you select your ITSP  (Internet Telephony Service Provider) for SIP trunks. You are not limited to one provider. You can setup up rules within Asterisk for example, to send certain calls to one ITSP, and other calls to another (maximize benefits of individual providers). Additionally, you can have back-up ITSPs incase one SIP provider goes down (you can set automatic error handling rules for this as well). Virtual PBX providers do not allow such configurability, although one would assume their internal backend processes have such backup mechanisms in place.

Many, not all, virtual PBX systems will limit the simultaneous calls per number.

The sounds quality associated with each service depends upon a number of factors such as:hardware quality, internet connection, firewall settings and service provider quality. There is no reason to assume that Premise PBX is better than Virtual PBX or vice versa.

What is your techincal ability? Do you have the time and ability to maintain a self-hosted PBX system? If you do, even with fewer users, a self-hosted PBX system could have cost savings. However, if you do not have time, use virtual PBX in the meantime according to a strict profit/savings analysis.