Glossary
Hosted PBX
A phone system run in a data centre by a third-party provider, accessed over the internet - the modern alternative to on-prem PBX hardware.
also known as: Hosted phone system, Managed PBX
A hosted PBX is a Private Branch Exchange (a phone system) run in a data centre by a third-party provider, accessed over the internet - instead of a server sitting in your office’s comms cupboard.
How it differs from other models
| Hosted PBX | On-prem PBX | Multi-tenant SaaS PBX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Provider’s data centre | Your office | Provider’s multi-tenant cloud |
| Dedicated to you | Yes | Yes | No (shared) |
| Hardware refresh | None | Every 5–7 years | None |
| Mobile/remote support | Native | Add-on | Native |
| Typical price model | Per-system or per-user | Upfront + maintenance | Per-user/month |
| Examples | 3CX Hosted (CPS) | NEC, Mitel, Avaya | RingCentral, 8×8, Dialpad |
Hosted PBX combines the benefits of dedicated infrastructure (your config, your data, no multi-tenant lock-in) with the operational simplicity of cloud (no hardware to manage).
What’s managed for you
A proper hosted-PBX service handles:
- Server provisioning in a data centre
- OS patching and security updates
- PBX software upgrades (e.g. 3CX version updates)
- Firewall and network security
- Weekly backups with monthly retention
- 24/7 monitoring
- Hardware redundancy
You retain administrative control of the PBX itself - extensions, IVRs, queues, recordings, integrations.
Where it’s hosted matters
For Australian businesses, look for Australian data-centre hosting. Your call recordings, voicemails, transcripts and CDRs should stay onshore for [[privacy-act|Privacy Act]] and industry-compliance reasons.
Cloud Phone System Australia hosts in Sydney and Melbourne Australian data centres by default. A nominated Australian cloud region is available for specific compliance needs.
