Entrepreneurs and small businesses can often manage their communication through regular phone lines. However, once a business grows in size it can become expensive for a company to provide hundreds of phone lines for all of its employees. This is where PBX comes in. Standing for Private Branch Exchange, PBX is a phone system used within large organizations to share phone lines between large numbers of employees. This system allows for internal calls within the organization on local lines while providing a certain number of external lines that employees can share for calling outside the organization. Originally, these systems required human operators to connect calls, but this was later upgraded to digital signals for a more automated system. With a PBX system, the business is connected to the phone company via copper lines.

With VoIP PBX, instead of being connected to the phone company via copper lines, the business is connected through SIP trunks. The trunks make use of packet switching technology so that phone calls travel over the Internet instead of PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). With phone calls sent over data networks, your business won’t need separate networks for sending voice messages and data. Rather, you can send voice messages in the same way as other data, such as documents, videos, images, and more. In other words, VoIP PBX is a PBX system that uses VoIP rather than PSTN.

There are many benefits of using a VoIP PBX system over a traditional PBX system. For large organizations or enterprises, these systems are becoming more popular for very good reasons. Here we’ll look at some of the advantages you can expect.

Reduced Costs

Because VoIP calls travel over a public Internet or business data network and there are only termination charges at certain PSTN spots, the costs of these calls are significantly lower than if the entire call goes through a traditional landline. For a large business that is making thousands of calls, this can represent a significant saving. The costs of International calls are also much lower with a VoIP PBX system. Even if they are not included in your plan, the call rates are only a few cents a minute, making them much cheaper than landline calls. Often more significantly, calls between employees within the company network, are free. This means that colleagues can talk freely without any need to monitor talking time.

Combine Networks

Every company today requires a phone network, as well as an Internet connection and a business data network. By using VoIP PBX, you can have a single network that serves both purposes. Having your voice calls routed through your data network will eliminate the need for your business to implement and maintain two separate networks.

Improve Efficiency

Besides the efficiency of having only one network, instead of two, there is also improved efficiency for employees. Employees will be able to talk to each other by dialing a short extension, rather than a full phone number. This is simpler and quicker. In addition, the user experience is not compromised when using this system and employees can receive traditional incoming calls and make outgoing calls in the regular way. With improvements in technology, the quality of calls is high and the service is reliable.

Enhanced Service and Features

In many cases, features that are already used by the business can be improved on when using VoIP PBX. An example of this is the voicemail feature. When using VoIP PBX, voicemails can be forwarded to your email inbox to be stored and categorized like other messages. In addition, some plans will offer voicemail transcriptions so you have a transcribed copy of every message you receive. Another feature that is enhanced when using VoIP PBX is the forwarding option. While previously you would have needed a person to answer and forward all incoming calls, with this system you can set it up so that on certain days or during certain hours, all calls are directed to a specific address, such as voicemail. Alternatively, calls from a specific number can be set to be forwarded to a cell phone, allowing for greater mobility.

As we’ve shown, there are many benefits to using VoIP PBX if you are a large business or enterprise. VoIP PBX offers cost-effective ways for your employees to communicate among themselves and for you to communicate with your customers or business colleagues out of the office. It is an efficient system that eliminates the need for two networks while offering quality calls. It also offers features that can enhance your customer service and be configured to suit your specific business needs. However, switching to a VoIP PBX system can be a costly undertaking. It may involve the purchase of new equipment, high installation fees, and maintenance costs. Small to medium-sized businesses often prefer to stick with their hosted VoIP service to eliminate these costs. For large businesses and organizations, while the initial outlay may be costly, the long-term savings, along with its improved features and efficiency, make it worthwhile. Consider the size of your business, the number of users you’ll have, and the features you need. This will help you work out if switching to VoIP PBX will be a worthwhile solution for your specific business.