There is some confusion when it comes to PABX systems and switchboards especially for those that don’t come from the telecommunications industry. (Read about what a PABX is) This is generally how small businesses encounter the two:
- You start your business with one phone line for incoming calls and your cell phone (perhaps for when you’re on the road)
- A year passes and you’re busy enough to employ 6 sales people, 2 sales support members and 1 receptionist. These additional people will all require phone lines.
- You decide you need a system that transfers calls from the receptionist to the individual employee and therefore decide you need a telephone switchboard.
- You start doing your research on which switchboard is best and discover that the term PABX comes up a lot. Why? This is because the technical term for a telephone switchboard is a PABX or Private Automatic Branch Exchange. A few decades ago the term PABX was used when switchboard operators using manual switchboards (PMBX or Private Manual Branch Exchange) started using more and more automatic switches and connectors to connect lines. This then became a PABX. Most recently this term has reduced to PBX as the discrimination between Automatic and Manual no longer needs to be made.
PABX Systems
You may however have found out that PABX systems are incredibly cumbersome and above all terribly expensive for your small 10 man business. Although you definitely need a switchboard to manage the amount of calls that are coming through to your office, you can’t realistically spend the money that is required. In a few years’ time when your business is at 50 employees you may be able to, but certainly not at this specific time. There is however a solution and that instead of a PABX system hosted onsite, you can use a Virtual or cloud based PABX. A Virtual PABX will be hosted at a service provider and you are able to leverage off their system until you are big enough to purchase your own PABX.
Cloud-based PBX or On-Premise PBX
The shift to digital platforms has gained momentum for some time now with on-premise PBX quickly being replaced by cloud-based PBX.
While an on-premise PBX has served a vital function in business communications, it’s simply being overtaken by the next level in communications. Here’s a look at some of the advantages of cloud-based PBX.
Read More: Cloud-based PBX over On-Premise PBX
So whether you need a switchboard a PABX or a Virtual Cloud based PABX it is important to find the right service provider to guide and advise you on the most cost effective yet efficient solution for your business.
Read more about that here; 10 Benefits of a Virtual PBX system.
For the best advice as to which one is right for your business, the best deals and service on all PBX and Virtual PABX systems that suit your business needs. Contact ECN today.
ECN is a leading player in the delivery of affordable and accessible converged voice and data solutions that are at the forefront of the next generation network. Contact ECN today for all your business communication needs.