A PBX system helps enterprises save money and increase efficiency. Without it, each employee would need a separate line to call each other.
Instead, a PBX enables each business user to share a limited number of external lines. In addition, a PBX can support paging systems. These include music on hold and a presence feature to let employees know when co-workers are available.
Traditional
PBX systems are the central nervous system of business telephony, connecting internal phones and providing services like voicemail, call transfer, and call waiting. They help businesses manage their calls more efficiently, improving both customer service and worker productivity.
PBX, or private branch exchange, phone systems have been in use for decades and can be either traditional or VoIP-based. The system is a hardware platform that allows users to connect with one another and to outside calls via business telephone lines. A PBX also provides call management functions such as auto attendants, conference calling, and call recording. Large and mid-sized companies primarily use these systems.
The earliest PBX systems were analog and worked over copper wires to connect to the Public Switched Telephone Network. Some smaller businesses still use these traditional systems but cannot offer modern features like voicemail-to-email. Additionally, a traditional PBX system can be costly to maintain and requires a technician to install and change any extensions or wiring.
Today, most PBX systems are digital and operate over IP networks using VoIP technology to channel calls. Some are hosted by service providers and are referred to as virtual or cloud-based PBX systems. Others are installed at the office and are referred to as traditional PBX systems. Regardless of the type, most modern PBX systems have many of the same capabilities, including auto attendants, call routing and queueing, voicemail, and IVR.
A PBX system also provides a variety of features that improve the user experience and increase efficiency, such as customized greetings, hold music, and hold messaging. PBX can also provide call recording and analytics, enabling organizations to monitor and optimize their communications.
PBX systems are often used to make outgoing business calls more cost-effective by allowing employees to share a single telephone number with their external customers. This helps businesses save on the expense of purchasing and maintaining separate landlines for outside calls while ensuring that customers always reach someone in an appropriate department. In addition, a PBX system can allow users to have local connections in cities where they are not physically present, enabling them to create a virtual office anywhere in the world.
IP
The IP type of PBX combines traditional phone lines with internet connectivity to support VoIP communications. A centralized control system monitors callers and routes incoming calls based on your specific business needs.
Whether your office has employees working remotely or at the office, most of the time, an IP PBX solution will help you keep your team in touch with each other and with clients. Before you choose a PBX type for your business, consider how you plan to use the system and how you’d like your teams to communicate.
For example, you might want to enable videoconferencing or a virtual receptionist to greet your callers. You can also set up a call queue to manage a high volume of calls and route them accordingly. The answer to these questions will inform you about your choice of a PBX type.
There are three types of PBX – analog-based, digital, and cloud-hosted. A traditional PBX system operates using copper wires to connect phones, but it can be upgraded to support VoIP connections with the addition of an adapter. An analog PBX system can handle voice, video, and fax communication, but it lacks many modern-day features, such as multimedia services, unified messaging (converting voicemail to email), and remote working capabilities.
The most common PBX types today are either VoIP or cloud-based, with the latter allowing businesses to access PBX functions over the Internet without investing in costly hardware or setting up separate networks for data and voice. Hosted and virtual PBX solutions offer flexibility, quality audio, and advanced calling features at an affordable price point.
If you’re choosing a hosted or virtual PBX, it’s best to consult an expert to ensure you choose the right solution for your company. They’ll ask you about your goals, needs, and current systems to recommend the best option for your business. In addition, they’ll be able to provide additional information about the benefits of each type of PBX to help you make the most informed decision. Effective communication is critical to your business’s success in this digital era. Make sure your PBX is ready for the demands of your growing organization.
Virtual
A virtual PBX system provides business users with VoIP phone service but without the hardware that is required for traditional landline systems. Often, they’re also hosted in the cloud and operate over the internet (hence the name), making them much more scalable than their traditional counterparts. They typically feature call forwarding, conferencing, customer greetings/auto attendants, and more.
PBX technology was first developed in the early days of the telephone to replace manual switchboards. These switchboards, which were also known as PABXs, required human operators to connect customers to a specific department or employee. Today, PBX phones use advanced software and IP telephony to route calls between departments and employees.
When a PBX phone system is installed in the workplace, it provides access to various features that can improve customer experience and boost productivity. For example, a virtual PBX can offer advanced voicemail integrations to turn emails into text transcripts. This can help businesses improve customer service and reduce misunderstandings. It can also provide call analytics and metrics so they can track performance and identify patterns.
A virtual PBX system can also support multiple phone lines and multiple offices for increased scalability. This can help companies manage the influx of calls during a busy period. In addition, a virtual PBX can offer flexible routing options so customers can reach the right person quickly.
Hosted PBX systems can be easily scalable and are usually easier to install than traditional PBX solutions. They don’t require physical hardware or dedicated office space, and they can be set up online within hours. This makes it easier for small and medium businesses to upgrade their telephony solution as their business grows, and it saves money on maintenance fees.
A hosted PBX can also improve productivity and enhance customer satisfaction with a robust auto attendant and a variety of other features. For instance, a virtual PBX can allow you to create a list of menu options for callers or customers, so they can choose which department to reach. This will prevent them from being put on hold or having to wait for an agent to become available.
Hosted
PBX solutions enable enterprises to communicate and collaborate over their business networks using desktop video conferencing, telepresence, voicemail, text messaging, chat, virtual meeting spaces, audio conferencing, interactive whiteboards, and more. These systems are usually built on top of unified communications as a service (UCaaS), which adds the ability to easily scale and integrate these technologies as the needs of the organization evolve.
Hosted PBX is also an option for smaller businesses that don’t have the budget to afford a traditional PBX system. The telecommunications provider hosts this type of PBX and can be accessed over the internet based on a pay-as-you-go plan. It also requires a much lower upfront cost and ongoing operational costs than an on-premises solution.
Traditional PBX systems are ideal for larger companies that can afford to invest in the infrastructure needed to manage and maintain the phone system and associated equipment. They are also suited for businesses with IT staff to support the system and can cope with any outages or maintenance issues.
In contrast, a hosted PBX solution is deployed on a remote IT infrastructure that the telecommunications provider manages. This means there is no need to allocate dedicated IT staff to update and upgrade the phone system, allowing the business to focus on core operations. The leading cloud telephony providers will also continuously back up and upgrade their infrastructure. This ensures business continuity in the event of a disaster or other outage.
Users of a hosted PBX can moderate many functions via a user-friendly web portal. They can create ring groups, assign new handset extensions and endpoints, set up SIP trunks, and more. They can also view a colleague’s presence to see if they are available, busy, or offline and route calls accordingly.
Moreover, the scalability of hosted PBX is unparalleled. Companies can add or remove features in seconds, which makes it easier to adapt to changing telephony requirements without incurring additional capital expenditure or spending money on hardware that may become obsolete within a year or two.