Choosing Between A Private And Virtual Branch Exchange Telephone System

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When you own a business, a good communication system is imperative. You need to be able to communicate with your employees and customers at all times. You may choose to have a business telephone system that is set up and run from your own office, or have one that is hosted by another business. Here are a few facts that will help you choose between a private and virtual branch exchange.

Private Branch Exchange (PBX)

Having a PBX in your office gives you your own complete telephone system. You must buy and maintain all the equipment. You will have a switchboard that will transfer calls coming in to the appropriate desk. For added versatility, you can go with the more modern voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) system. Everything will be run over the Internet, giving you the option to choose what type of communication you want. It opens up all kinds of possibilities, including having video conference calls from your desk. The big advantage to having your own equipment and a PBX is privacy. If your system is hosted, the host could get into the system to listen to conversations or read messages.

Virtual PBX

Instead of buying the server and all the equipment needed for an in-house PBX telephone system, you can use a host server. Companies are popping up all over the place that can manage your telecommunication needs. You will have all the features and function of VoIP PBX, but do not have the actual server in your building. This will save you a lot of money. Another advantage to having your system hosted is that the hosting company will always have a back-up system and server in place. If anything goes wrong, your communications get shifted to the back-up and you will not lose any functions or data. It would take you buying two complete systems to have this for yourself.

No matter which system you decide upon, keep in mind that things can be changed. You may want to start out with a simple VoIP system and then add to it as your business grows. There is so much more to your communications now than there was before. You will want to keep email, text messaging and conference calling as a normal part of your system. Do not give your employees a chance to say they missed a voice call; send all messages and information in multiple ways to make sure everyone stays on the same page. For additional information, you can always contact a communications company like Garden State Communications, Inc. and others.


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