Glossary
Cloud PBX
A cloud PBX, also called a hosted PBX, is a phone system that lives in the provider's infrastructure rather than in your building. Your phones and apps connect to it over the internet.
A cloud PBX, or hosted PBX, is a business phone system that a provider runs in its own infrastructure and delivers over the internet. Extensions, menus, ring groups, queues, voicemail and recording are configured in the hosted system. The business keeps only endpoints on site: desk phones, computers running a desktop app, and cell phones running a mobile app. There is no switch to buy, house or maintain.
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What it means
The features of a cloud PBX are the same as a traditional one. What changes is where the system lives and who maintains it. The provider operates the PBX software, applies updates, and connects it to the public telephone network. The customer manages the parts that describe their business: who has which extension, what the menu says, when the office is open.
Because the system is reached over the internet, location stops mattering. An extension can be a desk phone at head office, an app on a laptop at home, or a cell phone on a job site, and all three appear in the same directory and follow the same rules. Adding a location means adding devices, not installing a second system.
How it is used in a business phone system
- Inbound calls to your numbers arrive at the hosted PBX, which applies your menu and routing rules before ringing a device.
- Outbound calls from any device leave through the provider and show your business number.
- Changes are made in an admin console rather than by a technician visit: a new hire, a holiday greeting, a changed opening time.
- Multi-location and remote setups run on one system because every device registers to the same hosted PBX.
How 3CTel uses it
3CTel's business phone system is a cloud PBX. A specialist plans the extensions, menu, hours and fallbacks with you, configures them in the hosted system, and tests everything on a temporary number. Devices and apps are registered to the system, your existing number is ported, and the switch-over date is confirmed in advance. Pricing is quoted up front and nothing is billed before activation.
Business Phone
Reliable calling with routing your team will actually use.
Learn more: Business PhoneCloud phone system
No server in the closet. One portal for every user, site and rule.
Learn more: Cloud phone systemMulti-location business
Every branch on one system, with its own number, hours and greeting.
Learn more: Multi-location businessCommon questions about cloud PBX
What equipment do I need on site for a cloud PBX?
Only the devices people talk on and a working internet connection. Desk phones connect to your network with an Ethernet cable and register to the hosted system automatically once configured. Staff who work from a computer or a cell phone use the desktop or mobile app instead. No server, cabinet or dedicated phone wiring is required.
Is a cloud PBX suitable for a business with several offices?
Yes, and it is one of the clearest cases for it. Every office connects to the same hosted system, so each site keeps a local number and its own hours while sharing one directory. Calls transfer between sites by extension, and one administrator manages all locations from one console rather than maintaining a separate system at each address.
Related pages.
Business Phone
Reliable calling with routing your team will actually use.
Learn more: Business PhoneHosted PBX
The PBX as a service: endpoints, extensions, dial plans, failover and admin.
Learn more: Hosted PBXCloud PBX vs traditional PBX
Own the switch or rent it: ownership, maintenance, remote users and the path between them.
Learn more: Cloud PBX vs traditional PBXNot sure which of these you need?
Describe how your calls arrive today and a 3CTel specialist will map them to the right pieces, build them on a temporary number and quote the result before anything is billed.