Why are PBX's Becoming VoIP Based？

A PBX stands for Private Branch Exchange. When you own your own PBX you are essentially owning your own private phone network. Whether hosted or on-prem, the PBX is the brain center of your phone system, when it is shuts down nothing works. For outbound calls (calls from you to someone else) the PBX takes the call data and sends it where it needs to go.

Why are PBX's Becoming VoIP Based?

Companies that have long made use of an internal telephone system will be intimately familiar with the term PBX, which stands for Private Branch Exchanges. These types of traditional phone systems are also known as TDM, or Time Division Multiplexers.

Kindly ignore the slightly confusing wording, and just remember that PBX is an old system for internal telephone communication used by many organisations. These systems can also contact external phone numbers, but are limited in number due to how the system runs.

These days, traditional TDM systems are close to becoming obsolete, as newer, more efficient ways of communication, such as VoIP, is being adopted by most companies. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at a few of the reasons why cloud-based PBX, or VoIP-based company phone systems, are better than the old analogue solutions.

Reduce costs with VoIP

Firstly, it’s rather obvious that a cloud-based VoIP system can give you options that few legacy systems can compete with. One of these is the ability to make use of Session Initiation Protocol, simply known as SIP.

Essentially, SIPs are a way for you to connect a call through the internet connection. The call is then forwarded to the VoIP provider, which then uses their gateway to connect your call. This might not seem like something ground-breaking, but these packages are offered at a considerably lower rate than more traditional lines. In fact, acquiring a VoIP solution can save you up to 40% of your phone bills, depending on your provider. Their services will include inbound toll-free calls, international calls, and other long-distance calls.

Secondly, VoIP will provide your business with plenty of more freedom. With legacy phone systems, it could be incredibly difficult to move a single telephone from its situated place. If, for example, you were to do some remodelling in your office and the setup of your phones needed to change, you better be prepared to pay a high cost for reconnecting those phone lines, as you need professional help to do that.

This is not the case with VoIP phones. As they’re based on IP, it means they can easily be moved and reconnected from wherever you see fit.

You can also experience cost savings when it comes to connecting other branch offices. Do you remember the old days when you had to pay an extra installation fee if you wanted a branch office connected to your main systems? In those days, remote extensions were nothing but a pipe dream, but with the blessings of technology it’s now within easy reach.

Modern VoIP PBX systems will mostly bring costs related to hardware, meaning that adding another location will be less of a strain on the wallet. If you choose a cloud-based VoIP alternative, you can use the service anywhere as long as you have an internet connection – without any extra costs.

Cloud-based VoIP scales efficiently

I’m sure we can all agree that old phone lines never scaled that well. You could only add new lines at certain intervals – and removing them cost almost as much as the first installation itself. Due to this, many companies were wary of adding extra lines as they might possibly live to regret it.

However, with the VoIP cloud solutions of today you can scale with the push of a button. And not only is it easier and more flexible for growing businesses, but it also makes it more affordable to scale.

Another benefit is the fact that VoIP phones can bring you a wide array of beneficial features. Old-school PBX users might be familiar with the most common features of the system, such as caller ID, conference calling, and call waiting. These, along with a few others, were all considered standard features in any hosted PBX phone system of the time.

Luckily, new tech calls for new features. With a hosted PBX system, you can make use of features like calling groups, where you can redirect a call to a phone in the same group if the number is busy; call screening, where you disallow certain numbers from contacting your; as well as voicemail to email transcription. This last feature can be quite nifty, as it converts voicemails you receive into an email format, which is then forwarded to your inbox.

How do you choose your next VoIP system?

So, what are the most important parts of a VoIP solution? When asking around, you are almost certain to get different answers from different people. While some will undoubtedly value the nifty features, others might be tempted to point out value for investment as their main reason.

Regardless of the advanced technology, and no matter how cheap the installation fees are and how easy the VoIP solution is to install – none of this would matter if you couldn’t count on the system when you needed it the most. Reliability is something everyone should consider.

While the traditional PBX systems were great for its time, it could take days to get it up and running again whenever it failed. As an agile business, time is something you cannot afford to lose. If your cloud-based system somehow fails, your cloud provider will immediately transfer your solution a functioning server. In most cases, you won’t even notice that there was a moment of downtime.

Cloud-based PBX can take your business communications to the next level. Not only is it cheaper and more reliable than the old systems, but it’s also filled to the brim with bursting features. Do you want to see what a VoIP solution can do for your business? Fill out the form to your right, and one of our software experts will get in touch with you shortly.