| The phone service that a company uses is as critical | | | | calls. There is still a centralized unit that connects all |
| to a business as the product it is offering. How many | | | | phones to each other and needs to be housed in the |
| times (unfortunately) have you had to call the | | | | office. However, IP PBXes support VoIP, which grants |
| company of a product that you have bought for | | | | companies all of the associated benefits. Traditional |
| technical or support help? What about intra-office | | | | phone devices can be used, along with newer IP |
| communication, including having conference calls with a | | | | phones. |
| team in another city (or country for that matter)? The | | | | The presence of VoIP allows for greater flexibility and |
| telephone system is more important then you may | | | | lower costs when compared to traditional PBXes. |
| think. That is why it is absolutely critical to choose a | | | | However, their high cost also prohibits smaller |
| telephone service that is the best fit for your business | | | | businesses from using them. |
| and its unique needs. | | | | Hosted PBX or Virtual PBX |
| The world of business telephony is very large and | | | | Hosted PBXes are new to the market, yet they are |
| complex, with hundreds of companies, both small and | | | | the most innovative in leveling the playing field for small |
| large, offering very different solutions. You can buy a | | | | and large businesses. These providers offer drastically |
| traditional PBX unit and have it in-house, purchase an IP | | | | cheaper prices for the same assortment of features, |
| PBX and rely on your company's data connection to | | | | allowing businesses of any size to employ a |
| handle phone calls, or choose a Hosted PBX solution, | | | | professional telephone service. Hosted PBXes rely on |
| where the provider houses the equipment in another | | | | VoIP. This eliminates the need for separate phone lines |
| location, and you set up and manage features via a | | | | in your office, since the data connection is used to |
| web interface. With these drastically different choices, | | | | conduct phone calls. VoIP calls are cheap, and create |
| it is important to know the attributes of each to | | | | useful features, like voicemail-to-email. On the other |
| choose the one that best complements your company. | | | | hand, only IP phones can be used with this service. |
| PBXes | | | | Hosted PBX providers also house and manage the |
| PBX units have been the standard, 'go-to' business | | | | PBX equipment themselves. Customers who sign up |
| phone service solution when companies need to set | | | | for the service can set up features like voice |
| up a phone system. A PBX is the central hub of an | | | | mailboxes and auto attendants via a web interface, |
| office phone network, linking all of the phones in the | | | | without having to go to the PBX itself. This grants an |
| office together and to the PSTN network. It also | | | | unparalleled degree of flexibility, allowing businesses to |
| allows for an assortment of calling features such as | | | | scale up or down as needed, without calling on a |
| extension-to-extension dialing, call transferring and | | | | specialist. It also gets rid of the headaches of |
| auto-attendants. However, PBXes are very expensive, | | | | maintaining a bulky and complex piece of equipment, |
| and need to be housed in the office itself. An IT | | | | which is a plus for any business! |
| specialist is needed to manage and operate them, and | | | | These factors drive down the cost of operating an |
| making any changes can be time-consuming and | | | | enterprise-class phone service. Hosted PBXes are |
| complex. | | | | ideal for small and medium-sized businesses that have |
| PBXes are the best solution for large businesses that | | | | workforces spread out over many locations (such as |
| have a workforce that is working from a central | | | | if some employees work from home). Even though |
| location. These businesses can afford the high cost of | | | | they are in different locations, the hosted PBX will |
| purchasing and maintaining the PBX, and having the unit | | | | connect them all as if they are in one office space, |
| in the same location as the employees who are using | | | | allowing the company to present a single and united |
| it is useful. | | | | face to the public. Hosted PBXes also give smaller |
| IP PBXes | | | | businesses access to corporate telephony features |
| IP PBXes are similar to traditional PBX phone systems, | | | | due to its low operating costs, and without having to |
| the difference being they use VoIP to conduct phone | | | | invest in an expensive unit. |