The traditional PBX telephone system is seeing less and less use in the business world, but it does still have its purpose. There are two main variations of PBX – an On-Premise system or a hosted solution.
Hosted PBX
A hosted PBX solution means that you do not have any physical equipment (apart from your phones) on-site. Your phone solution provider is responsible for housing the necessary server for your business phones to function. No physical equipment on-site means that your solution is transferable and can be used from any geographic location – perfect for disaster recovery.
There are many benefits of having a Hosted PBX, which include:
- Scalability – add or increase your capacity with ease
- Security – servers have 24 hour security
- Low maintenance – most can be done in-house
- Disaster recovery – access your solution from any location at any time
- You don’t need to house any equipment
- No technical expertise required
- It can be less expensive than a traditional PBX solution due to low-cost calls
On-Premise PBX
An on-premise PBX means that you house all the relevant PBX equipment at your location. Those with an on-premise PBX usually use SIP Trunking in order to establish a connection between the PBX and standard phone network (PSTN), using an internet connection.
An on-premise PBX is suitable for businesses who often have an in-house team dedicated to communication systems and rely on high call volume. An example of this is call centres, who often use on-premise PBX systems, as it gives them greater control over customisation and call quality. Another benefit to on-premise PBX is that monthly rental costs can be greatly reduced, but you must factor in that maintenance and staff may be required to maintain the system which will offset some of these savings.