Hosted voice and cloud phone systems
Business calling that follows your people
Customers need to reach the right person whether your team is at a desk, at home or working across several sites. Stratiis helps Scottish organisations move from restrictive telephone systems to hosted voice, with practical call flows, suitable devices and support for the connections the service relies on.
What is hosted voice?
Hosted voice is a cloud based business phone service. The telephone platform manages your numbers, extensions and call routing outside your premises, while employees make and receive calls through compatible desk phones, computer applications or mobile applications over an internet connection. It can give different locations and remote workers access to one business calling setup.
When to consider it
Is your current phone system holding you back?
Calls ringing at empty desks, personal mobiles used for customer conversations and changes that require an engineer are signs that your system no longer fits the way people work. A move to hosted voice is a chance to design who answers each type of call, what happens during busy periods and how customers reach you outside opening hours.
Reach the right team
Route calls through an auto attendant, a group or a queue so customers are less dependent on one extension.
Work across locations
Give approved employees access to their business number from a suitable desk phone or application.
Make changes sooner
Add users and adjust call handling without replacing the telephone system at every site.
Understand demand
Use available reporting to spot missed calls, busy periods and opportunities to improve service.
How it works
How does hosted voice work?
Your business numbers connect to a hosted platform, which applies your chosen rules when a call comes in. A call might ring a receptionist, reach a team, wait in a queue or forward to another approved device. Employees sign in through compatible phones or applications and use their business identity when making calls.
The service depends on the internet connections and local equipment that carry calls. We assess your sites and the way your people work before recommending a platform, devices, number migration and call flows.
For your customers
Keep familiar numbers where they can be ported, set clear opening hours and route callers to the right team. Greeting and voicemail choices should be simple and useful.
For your employees
Use a business extension across approved devices, transfer calls between colleagues and manage availability with the features included in the selected service.
Core capabilities
What can a hosted voice system include?
The exact feature set depends on the platform and licence. We match it to your call volumes and working patterns, then explain what is included before deployment.
Call routing and reception
Auto attendants, hunt groups, call queues, transfers and opening hours help callers reach the right destination.
Voicemail and missed calls
Voicemail to email, forwarding and notifications can give teams a clearer way to follow up.
Phones and applications
Suitable desk phones, headsets, desktop applications and mobile applications support different roles and locations.
Reporting and analytics
Available reports can show call volume, missed calls and queue performance, helping managers plan staffing and improve routing.
Call recording
Recording may be available for quality, training or record keeping, subject to the chosen service and your retention and privacy requirements. Explore call recording and analytics.
Integrations
Some platforms can connect to CRM tools or other business systems. We check compatibility and the practical value of an integration before recommending it.
Choosing the right platform
Hosted voice, Teams Phone or a contact centre?
These services overlap, but they solve different communication problems. The best fit depends on how employees work and how complex your customer conversations are.
| Option | Where it fits | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Hosted voice | A flexible business telephone system with familiar calling features, desk phone choice and routing across locations. | Platform features, devices, call flows, reporting and ongoing support. |
| Microsoft Teams Phone | Calling through Teams for organisations whose people already use it heavily for meetings and collaboration. | Licensing, calling setup, devices and reception needs. Explore Microsoft Teams Phone. |
| Cloud contact centre | Higher volume or more complex customer enquiries needing agent workflows, supervisor tools and richer reporting. | Queues, channels, integrations, service targets and licensing. Explore contact centre solutions. |
A provider should ask about your actual call journeys before proposing a product. If reception and a few teams need straightforward routing, a full contact centre may add unnecessary complexity. If customer contact is central to service delivery, basic hosted voice queues may be too limited.
Flexible working
One business number across offices and remote teams
Hosted voice lets eligible users answer and make business calls from approved locations with a suitable connection. Teams can transfer callers between sites, use shared groups and avoid relying on personal numbers. It can work especially well for organisations with several offices, hybrid employees or people who move between customer sites.
We plan the practical details: who should receive each call, what happens when someone is unavailable, whether the mobile application fits the role and how the team handles a change of location. Employees then need a short, role specific introduction to the features they will use.
Call quality and continuity
Does hosted voice need a good internet connection?
Yes. Calls depend on a reliable, suitable connection as well as routers, switches, Wi-Fi where used and power at the site. Poor network performance can cause delays, dropouts or interrupted calls. A cloud platform can stay available while a local office is offline, but local desk phones and network equipment may still stop working.
We review capacity, coverage, network configuration and the importance of each site. Where continuity matters, the design may include a second connection, alternative routing, mobile access and power protection. The right measures depend on your locations and risk tolerance.
Connectivity that supports calling
From broadband to dedicated circuits, the connection should fit your number of simultaneous calls and other business traffic. Explore business connectivity.
Plan for an outage
A backup route can reduce dependence on one line, while call forwarding can help customers reach an alternative team or device. Explore internet failover.
Trade offs
What are the benefits and limitations of hosted voice?
Hosted voice can simplify changes, support hybrid work and reduce reliance on ageing telephone equipment. Those benefits depend on a service that fits your organisation and a network that carries it reliably. We discuss the limitations early so the migration plan reflects them.
| Consideration | What it means for your decision |
|---|---|
| Monthly cost | Licences, call packages, devices, number porting, installation, support and optional features all affect the total. Compare like for like. |
| Number migration | Existing numbers can often be retained through porting, but eligibility, supplier records and lead times must be checked before a cutover date is agreed. |
| Internet and power | A resilient hosted platform does not keep local routers and desk phones running during an outage. Plan alternative routes and power where appropriate. |
| Training and adoption | Employees need to understand availability, transfers, voicemail and the application or device they use day to day. |
| Feature scope | Advanced reporting, recording, CRM integration and complex queues may require a different licence or platform. |
Security and support
How should hosted voice be managed?
Business calling is part of your wider IT environment. Access to the phone platform should be controlled, users should have appropriate permissions and unused accounts should be removed. Where available, authentication settings, restrictions on chargeable destinations and alerts can help reduce misuse. Recording needs a clear purpose, access policy and retention approach.
A provider should also explain who owns number porting, device setup, call flow changes and fault resolution after go live. Stratiis can bring connectivity and communications support together, so a call quality issue can be investigated across the relevant parts of the service.
What to ask a provider
Ask for a demonstration using your real call flows, a full feature and cost breakdown, a migration plan, support arrangements and a clear explanation of resilience. Confirm which party manages each dependency.
Who benefits?
Multi-site businesses, professional services teams, charities and organisations with hybrid staff often need easier routing and a consistent business number. Suitability follows the call pattern, connection and support needs, not the sector label alone.
Delivery
How Stratiis plans a hosted voice migration
We start with what happens to calls today, then design and test the new experience before moving your numbers and users.
Discover
Map numbers, users, sites, devices and the calls each team handles.
Assess
Review connections, network equipment, current contracts and continuity needs.
Design
Choose the platform, licences, call flows, devices and support model.
Plan
Confirm number porting, dependencies, timing and a practical cutover route.
Test
Configure and check incoming, outgoing and out of hours calls.
Support
Introduce users to the service and help manage changes after launch.
Frequently asked questions
Hosted voice questions, answered
Short answers to the points businesses raise most often when replacing a telephone system.
How much does hosted voice cost?
Cost depends on the number of users, licences, calls, devices, installation and optional features such as recording or advanced queues. A useful quote separates one off migration costs from ongoing charges and states what support includes.
Can we keep our current telephone numbers?
Often, yes. Existing numbers can commonly be ported, subject to eligibility and accurate details from the current provider. Do not cancel the existing service before the transfer plan is confirmed.
Is hosted voice the same as VoIP?
VoIP describes carrying voice calls over an IP network. Hosted voice is a managed business phone service that uses that technology and provides a cloud based platform for numbers, users and call features.
Do we need new desk phones?
Not always. Some users can call through a computer or mobile application, while others benefit from a desk phone. Existing handsets need a compatibility check before reuse is assumed.
Can employees use hosted voice at home?
Yes, if their role, device and home connection support the chosen service. They can use an approved application or compatible phone to handle business calls without sharing a personal number.
What happens if the internet goes down?
Calls to local desk phones may stop, but the hosted platform can route calls to another site, team or mobile device if alternatives have been planned and configured. The outcome depends on the failure and your chosen setup.
Will call quality match a traditional system?
It can be excellent on a suitable, well managed connection. Quality depends on bandwidth, network performance, equipment and the service configuration, so we assess these before migration.
Can one system serve several offices?
Yes. A hosted platform can give several sites shared business numbers, internal calling and consistent routing while allowing local call handling where needed.
Can we record calls?
Many platforms offer recording, sometimes as an additional feature. Check the licence, storage, access controls, retention and privacy requirements. See our call recording guidance.
Does it work during a power cut?
The hosted platform may remain available, but local phones, routers and switches need power. Alternative devices, call routing and power protection can be part of the continuity plan.
How long does installation take?
It varies with user numbers, site readiness, device needs and number porting. A provider should confirm dependencies and a tested migration schedule rather than promising a fixed timescale before discovery.
Is hosted voice suitable for a small business?
It can be. A small team may value one main number, simple routing and the ability to answer from different places. The package should fit actual needs and budget.
Can hosted voice integrate with Microsoft Teams?
Some services support Teams integration, but capabilities and licensing vary. If your staff work mainly in Teams, compare that option with a dedicated Microsoft Teams Phone setup.
Can Stratiis provide the internet connection too?
Yes. We can review and provide suitable business connectivity alongside a hosted voice proposal, including options for resilience where needed.
Speak to Stratiis
Make it easier for customers to reach you
Tell us how calls work today and where your teams are losing time. We can review your numbers, connectivity and call flows, then recommend a hosted voice setup that fits your organisation.
Book a Hosted Voice ReviewCall 0141 348 7960
Or email sales@stratiis.com.
