PBX (Private Branch Exchange) phone systems are business communication platforms that connect, switch and route calls on your internal telephone network. They offer many of the advanced calling features you would need for a residential phone system, such as a large number of extensions, auto attendants and voicemail services, among others.
Cost-effectiveness
A PBX phone system can save your business money in the long run. This is because you do not have to pay for long-term service contracts and hardware. You also get the benefit of a centralized control system that allows your entire office to access the phone system at the same time.
The price of a pbx phone system is based on the size of your company and the features you want to include. Smaller SMEs may not have to worry about spending too much on a new phone system, but larger companies will need to spend more.
For instance, a business with only twenty employees might expect to pay approximately $16,400 over the course of two years for a cloud-based communications system, including the cost of phones. This compares to a traditional on-premises PBX, which would cost about $48,000 for the same number of users.
While some businesses are happy with the cost of their current telephone systems, others are looking for something better. They might be moving to a different location or expanding their services, for example.
Many SMEs do not know how to properly estimate the cost of a pbx phone system, and they end up paying for more than they need. In addition to the price of a new system, you might have to budget for equipment like jacks and telephone wires.
A PBX phone system also keeps track of how many incoming and outgoing calls your business receives, so you can adjust the allocation of handsets accordingly to gain maximum value for the investment. This is a huge savings for your business, because it means you can cut unnecessary costs and improve employee productivity.
Another major advantage of a pbx phone system over conventional phones is that they can be configured with a variety of additional features, such as auto attendants and call forwarding. These features are typically not available with conventional telephones, and they can be especially helpful for customer support departments.
Some people also find that a pbx phone system is more cost-effective than other systems because they can be easily expanded as the business grows. In addition, they are more flexible, and can be easily adapted to accommodate changing needs, such as adding or removing extensions, and even upgrading the system.
Scalability
As a growing business, you may need to increase the number of phone lines your PBX system can accommodate. This is important because it ensures that your team has the necessary resources to keep up with demand.
One way to ensure scalability is to choose a PBX system that allows for flexible upgrades and expansion. This will allow your organization to add new phone lines without any disruption to existing services or workflows.
Depending on your needs, there are several types of PBX phone systems that you can consider. These include analogue, digital and cloud-hosted systems.
An analog PBX system uses the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to send and receive calls, while a digital PBX is an Internet Protocol PBX that transmits and receives calls over Ethernet cables rather than traditional landlines. IP PBXs are becoming more common and offer many features that make them a more attractive option for businesses.
Another option is to use a hosted PBX, which is an offsite VoIP phone system that manages calls through the Internet. These cloud PBX solutions are scalable, allowing you to add or remove users as needed.
In addition, a cloud-based PBX solution often comes with a wide range of advanced features that improve productivity and streamline communication. These include remote work features, which enable teams to access the business telephone system from anywhere they have an internet connection, and unified communications tools that connect all internal and external lines into a single platform.
Alternatively, you can choose a hybrid PBX system, which provides both the benefits of an on-premise PBX as well as the advanced features of a virtual PBX. These hybrid solutions adapt existing PBX hardware to use VoIP, resulting in enhanced call quality, security, and advanced features at a reduced cost.
Whether you opt for an on-premise, cloud-hosted, or hybrid PBX system, you’ll need to determine the specific scalability needs of your business and its current and future operations. The scalability of your PBX will determine how much you’ll need to invest in additional phone lines and equipment, as well as the cost of monthly billing and maintenance.
Convenience
A PBX phone system allows businesses to manage calls in a way that’s convenient for both employees and customers. For instance, you can set up a menu for incoming callers that directs them to the correct department or team member. This improves customer experience, and can help reduce the number of incoming calls.
PBX systems are also more flexible than traditional phone services, making it easier to customize the features and settings that best suit your business. For example, you can create multiple lines for different departments and even configure your PBX to automatically assign the correct extensions.
In addition, PBX phone systems can be managed through an online portal. This makes it easier to add new lines and change their settings as your business grows. This is a big benefit for businesses that are growing rapidly or planning a major upgrade.
Some PBX phone systems also have the ability to provide voicemail to email and mobile device support. These are helpful features for remote workers.
You can also take advantage of a PBX’s automatic call forwarding to redirect incoming calls to the right people, teams, or departments. This can save your company money by reducing the number of incoming calls that are not routed to the correct location.
Many PBX phone systems have inbuilt help desk software, which means you can answer calls for customers without having to hire a receptionist or other outside employee. This can be useful for small and remote businesses, or companies that have customers who speak several languages.
Another benefit of a PBX phone system is that it allows for remote connectivity, allowing employees to work from any location with a high-speed Internet connection. This can help keep your business up and running in the event of a natural disaster or power outage.
PBX also has an ever-so-slight edge over VoIP in terms of reliability, as it runs on the PSTN network. This is because the copper wire that carries calls over the PSTN has fewer stability issues than the Internet.
PBX phone systems are a popular choice for many businesses because of their convenience and cost-effectiveness. However, it’s important to find the right system for your business needs.
Control
PBX phone systems are business-grade, private telephone networks that connect businesses with each other and the rest of the world. They provide a wide range of features that enable smooth communication between employees and customers, including voicemail, call recording, interactive voice menus (IVRs), and call queues.
A PBX system can be a physical box that sits in your office, or it can be a virtual one hosted by a provider over the internet. Typically, a virtual PBX is cloud-based and offers many of the same benefits as an on-premises system but in a more flexible way.
Modern PBX phone systems can also be accessed using softphones on your computer or smartphone, which is a great option for mobile workers. However, some providers don’t have these features built in and may charge extra for them.
It’s important to consider your business’ growth trajectory and the types of communications you want to use when choosing a pbx phone system. You should look for a vendor that offers a wide variety of unified communication (UC) applications, and that can accommodate your evolving needs.
Moreover, you should choose a system that allows you to manage and moderate key functions like creating new handset extensions and endpoints, call routing paths or setting up SIP trunking, which is ideal for small businesses looking for self-managed VoIP phone systems. Hosted PBX systems have well-designed management GUIs that are easy to navigate, with customer support offered over the phone as part of your monthly service cost.
Another important feature of a pbx phone system is the ability to route calls to the right people when needed with the help of pbx phone operator. This can be especially helpful if you have multiple offices or employees who work off-site at different times of the day.
With a PBX system, you can easily set up different call settings for each person and alternate between internal, outgoing local, some long distance, and international numbers as necessary. You can even create a simple menu system that lets callers enter an extension to limit their wait time.
If you have a large number of employees who work remotely or offsite, you’ll need a phone system that can handle incoming calls without disruption when they’re in need of help. The ability to reroute calls to the next available person makes a big difference in how your organization operates.