Phone Systems: Knowing the Difference Between PBX and VoIP
Communication is crucial for your business. Because of this, it’s important to invest in a high-quality office phone system that allows you to communicate both internally and externally most effectively and efficiently.
Office phone systems used to rely on the traditional analog system. However, at present, phone systems have innovated. The modern options you can choose from are the Private Branch Exchange (PBX) and the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) networks.
Whether you are building or upgrading your office phone system, you should decide whether you’re going to use PBX or VoIP solutions. To help you learn more about these phone systems and their major differences, feel free to use this article as your guide.
What Are PBX and VoIP Phone Systems?
The PBX phone system refers to the traditional analog phone system that allows users to communicate directly using physical line-to-line connections through the exchange network. On the other hand, VoIP systems involve transmitting the voice signals of users into data packets through your network over the internet.
What Are the Differences between PBX and VoIP Phone Systems?
- Reliability
When the two phone systems are compared, PBX is deemed more reliable as opposed to VoIP.
Unlike VoIP that heavily relies on the internet, PBX is an independent infrastructure. Therefore, you don’t have to worry in case you have a power outage or your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has downtime or bandwidth issues as this will not affect your network infrastructure. This means that you get to maintain your call quality despite the problems in your power and internet connection.
- Cost
If you are looking for a cost-effective phone system, then VoIP is the better choice as opposed to PBX. This is because there is only a minimal upfront cost that you have to pay because of its lighter infrastructure load compared to the PBX phone system. In fact, all you need to do is to invest in VoIP-enabled phones, subscribe to a reliable internet service, and then you are all set.
Also, choosing the VoIP system will allow you to save money as it has lower monthly costs. You will also get to enjoy a simplified and hassle-free billing experience because VoIP combines your bills for your telephone and internet service.
- Flexibility
PBX phone systems use a predetermined number of analog phone lines. This means that you are more likely required to buy more capacity from your phone provider in case you hire more team members or increase your call volume.
To put it simply, when flexibility is your priority, the VoIP phone system is the best way to go. This is considered more flexible as it lets you add users and capacity depending on your constantly changing needs by your internet connection and network’s bandwidth. It’s also easier and simpler to add capacity to your bandwidth through your VoIP provider than boost the capacity through your phone provider.
Conclusion
When deciding on the phone system for your business, it’s important to consider your needs. You may consider hiring a phone system specialist to guide you in choosing the phone system that is right for you.
On the other hand, if you choose VoIP for your business, then you can depend on Improcom. We provide business-class VoIP phone service. Contact us to learn more about what we can do for you!