Most businesses do not choose a phone system very often. The last decision was usually made years ago, by someone who may no longer work there, and it has been quietly renewed ever since. Then something forces the question: the old system fails, the office moves, a second site opens, or the team goes hybrid and the desk phones sit ringing in an empty office.
This guide is for that moment. It covers the four setups most Sydney businesses end up on, the things that genuinely matter when choosing between them, and the questions worth asking any provider, including us.
The four options
An on-premise PBX
A PBX is the system that routes calls between your lines, extensions and staff. The traditional version is a box on site, usually in a comms cupboard, supported under a maintenance contract.
If you own one that works and is not near the end of its life, there is no urgent reason to rip it out. The costs tend to show up later: a technician for changes, hardware that eventually has to be replaced, and a system that is tied to one building. It also does little for staff who are not in the office.
A cloud phone system (cloud PBX)
The same job, but the system runs in the cloud rather than in your building. Staff use IP desk phones, a softphone on their computer, or an app on their mobile. Call routing, queues, users and numbers are managed in a browser.
This is where most businesses replacing an old system now land, for practical reasons. There is no phone system hardware to buy or maintain on site. Adding a user or a site is an admin task rather than a callout. And because the system is not tied to one building, a call to the office number can reach someone at home, on the road or at another site.
Microsoft Teams calling
If your team already works in Microsoft Teams all day, taking calls there is natural. Teams handles individual calling well. Where it can fall short on its own is the work around the phone: a proper reception setup, call queues, auto-attendants, wallboards and call centre reporting.
For a lot of businesses the answer is not Teams or a phone system, but both: a cloud phone system handling numbers, routing and queues, integrated with Teams so staff can make and take calls where they already work.
Mobiles only
Some small teams simply use their own mobiles. It is quick and cheap to start. The trade-offs appear as you grow: there is no shared business number, no way to route a call to whoever is free, no after-hours handling, and when a staff member leaves, their customer relationships can leave on their phone.
It suits sole traders and very small teams without a reception function. Past that, it usually starts costing more in missed calls than a phone system would.
What actually matters for a Sydney business
Your internet connection is now your phone line
With any cloud or Teams setup, calls travel over your internet connection. That makes two things matter more than they used to.
The first is the connection itself. A business-grade connection sized for your team, with voice traffic prioritised, makes a noticeable difference to call quality.
The second is what happens when it drops. Ask what failover is configured. A well set up system can route calls over an alternate carrier path automatically, and divert extensions to mobiles if the office connection goes down, so callers still reach a person rather than silence.
Keeping your numbers
Your phone number is on your website, your signage, your vehicles and years of customer contacts. Australian numbers can be ported between providers, so changing phone systems should not mean changing numbers. Confirm that porting is part of the setup, not an extra you arrange yourself.
More than one site, or more than one way of working
If you have a head office and branches, or staff split between the office, home and the road, look for one system across all of it. Calls should be able to transfer and overflow between sites, and a desk extension should work from a laptop or mobile. Separate systems per site are a common source of lost calls and duplicated cost.
Who answers when nobody can
Calls that arrive after hours, or when everyone is busy, are often the ones that matter most, because the caller rings the next business on their search results instead of leaving a message. Ask how the system handles overflow and after-hours calls: voicemail, a mobile diversion, a callback queue, or an AI agent that answers, captures the details and books the caller in.
Whether you are really running a call centre
If a team answers the phones for a living, you need call centre features: queues with skill-based routing, live wallboards, reporting on answer rates and agent activity, and ideally call summaries. Dedicated call centre platforms can be expensive. Check whether the phone system you are considering includes these features, because some do.
Local support and on-site help
Most phone system work is done remotely. Some of it is not: handset installs, the cutover itself, and the occasional fault that needs someone in the room. Ask whether the provider attends site in your area, and who you actually speak to when something goes wrong.
A switching checklist
Before you move, gather:
- Your numbers. Every number you use, including fax numbers and any you advertise but rarely think about.
- Your current contracts. Contract end dates and any exit terms, for both the phone system and the lines.
- Your call flow. What happens when someone rings: who answers, where it goes next, and what happens after hours.
- Your people. Who needs a desk phone, who would rather use a softphone, and who works away from a desk.
- Your connection. Your internet plan at each site, and whether there is a backup.
A good cutover builds and tests the new system while the old one keeps running, then ports the numbers across and switches over, so callers never notice the change.
Questions to ask any provider
- Is there hardware I need to buy for the phone system itself?
- Is number porting included in setup?
- What happens to my calls if my internet goes down?
- Can one system cover all of my sites and remote staff?
- Does it integrate with Microsoft Teams?
- Are queues, wallboards and call reporting included, or extra?
- How are after-hours and overflow calls handled?
- Do you attend site in my area when something needs a person there?
- Who do I call for support, and where are they?
The answers will tell you more about a provider than a feature list will.
Where Metcom fits
We provide cloud business phone systems to Sydney businesses: no phone system hardware on site, Australian number porting, multi-site from one login, carrier path and mobile failover, call centre features, and integration with Microsoft Teams. Our office is in Cronulla, we attend site across the Sydney metro area, and we work with businesses Australia-wide.
If you are weighing up your options, see how Metcom Cloud PBX works, or tell us how your phones work today and we will recommend a setup.