PBX is an acronym for private branch exchange. The use of pbx phone systems is suitable for a few dozen or a few thousand individual phones . It allows instant access to any employee or contractor with a connected phone. There are many options to establish pbx phone systems tailored to your needs.
PBX in the earliest forms was operated manually through a switchboard. Operators would switch incoming phone calls to the correct line using a small device called a “phone box”. Later this developed into more automated systems. The current industry standard is a fully electronic virtual pbx although some models of “key” systems are still in use. The main advantage of PBX over other telecommunications is the pbx phone systems have so many features.
Virtual pbx systems allow you to have a full service PBX without the cost and liability of a privately owned pbx phone system. Local telecommunications companies give businesses features like conference calling, faxing and automated incoming call greetings. A hosted ip pbx will also have technical support so trouble shooting will not cripple business as usual. A hosted ip pbx uses a single line to connect calls from many other other lines. A cloud pbx is routed by multiple servers.
VOIP compatibility will allow you to have unlimited telecommuting employees. There is substantial savings on international and long distance calls and other service features. Voice Over Internet Protocol is increasingly popular as a way to add telecommunications based positions. Using a headset or other single server or cloud pbx compatible equipment a users voice is translated into binary code. The code is sent through the lines of the hosted ip pbx and translated back to sound waves in the hand set of the other user. This technology was designed to use virtual pbx and will continue to improve dramatically in the future.
Virtual pbx systems offer many features but they have two major drawbacks. If your telecommunications company does not offer a certain feature you cannot simply add it. There is room to add lines but not services. Like all cloud pbx systems if the internet connection is compromised the business has no telephone service at all. This makes traditional pbx phone systems more appealing to many.
SIP is the newest in cloud pbx options for those who are not traditional. Session Initiation Protocol is a updated form of a standard hosted ip pbx. It has advantages over other cloud pbx formats in that it uses your own WiFi ready devices like laptops or PDAs to communicate with pbx phone systems that are also SIP compatible. Some virtual pbx providers only allow approved equipment to be used in their networks. What do you think?
