Hosted systems at a glance
A hosted telephone system is a PBX (Private Branch Exchange) that exists off-site that is owned and maintained by a company that provides service for a large number of organizations.
With multiple institutions sharing the same PBX, hosted systems allow organizations to outsource upkeep and development of communication services and features. Hosted phone systems became much more accessible to the general public when Internet infrastructure became sufficient enough to support cost-effective telephony solutions.
Before hosted systems were readily available, many organizations were required to own and maintain PBXs in order to be able to communicate via telephones. Calls made within an on-premise system are routed through the PBX before getting sent out the service lines installed by the phone company and directed to their final destination.