Phone calls are still the first mode of communication in the world, be it for household or business purposes.
Especially in business settings, implementing the right telephony system counts a lot. After all, if the communication system is not efficient, a business may lose not only its investors or potential business deals but also its cherished customers.
Therefore, when it comes to the communication systems of a business, it is important to make sure that the system should be reliable, feature rich and state of the art.
PBX (Private Branch Exchange) Systems
As the name suggests, it is a private telephone system that is usually used in the business settings. The phones connected to the PBX system share a telephone line that is used to make external phone calls which is done through a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network).
PBX systems were initially used by the large enterprises mainly because of the high recurring cost. However, the recurring and overhead cost of the PBX systems came down over the years allowing even small businesses to switch to a PBX system.
There are a plethora of features that PBX systems bring with it such as call conferencing, call records archiving, extension directory, call conferencing, call holding, and many more.
Traditional PBX
Also known as analogue systems, traditional PBX is a physical exchange box that is usually installed in the company’s premises. Although the traditional system comes with a higher cost, but it may be justified with the calculated cost with regards to the employee.
A piece of hardware is used to link all the phone systems of a company which as a result increases the installation and maintenance cost. Since traditional PBX systems are usually complex than other exchange systems, businesses usually require the services of a well-trained engineer.
Hosted PBX
The business telephony has been developed over the past years into a more advanced system. If the business owner doesn’t want bear the expenses of the installation expenses as well as maintenance and support expenses, a hosted PBX is the best bet.
Traditional PBX requires a bit of complex working that requires the skills of an engineer to add more features to the system. It ultimately results into additional expenses. However, with a hosted PBX, businesses can add in new features with great ease. Using easy plugins or add-ons, a business owner can easily add more functionality to the system through his browser.
Not only does the user get to enjoy all the perks of a PBX system, they don’t have to dedicate added resources to maintain the systems as it is done by the telecom provider since the system is located at their stations.
IP PBX
Perhaps the best PBX system that a business owner would want because of ownership and cost reduction would be the IP PBX. Since the PBX works over an IP network, it uses a VoIP service to transmit audio and video data in the form of data packets.
Since the communication is done via data packets, the system reduces the cost to a great extent. Secondly, the IP PBX system also allows businesses to make international calls at a considerably lower cost as compared to the cost incurred by traditional lines.
IP PBX systems not only work with VoIP calls but users can even make traditional call while still enjoying the features and functionalities of the IP system. An IP PBX is different from not only traditional or hosted system in that it is completely owned by the owner due to on-site hardware and installation.
