If you have never heard of a hosted PBX, you have probably seen it in movies and television shows set in the 50s or 60s of the last century. Imagine a telephone operator sitting at a switchboard directing numerous phone calls by moving dozens of wires from one socket to another: that scene is of a PBX system. This old system, however, has been getting a face-lift as of late and is becoming an important tool for small- to medium-sized businesses that are looking for an efficient and convenient telecommunications system. Here we will talk about what hosted PBX is, and how it has been updated to serve the demands of the modern business world.
What is Hosted PBX?
PBX stands for Public Branch Exchange and has been around for decades. A PBX is where all the incoming phone calls to an office are processed and transferred to their intended destinations. In the past, a PBX was hosted by the company who was using the service, and thus required a separate facility within the office. Today, however, hosted PBX is kept offsite and all calls are processed by the host telephony company. Instead of going straight to the office that is being dialed, phone calls are sent first to the hosted PBX and then on to the correct telephone number within the office.
What are the Advantages of a Hosted PBX?
While a hosted PBX is an old system of transferring telephone calls, it is a system that offers numerous advantages for today’s businesses. The main advantages to a hosted PBX are the conveniences and efficiency it provides to running a business smoothly. Because a hosted PBX is kept offsite, there is no longer any need to maintain a separate space and additional staff to run the PBX. This fact alone will save companies money and free up valuable office space. Furthermore, all maintenance of the PBX system is the responsibility of the company hosting the PBX, thus saving businesses that use this service even more money and time. Thus, an office manager can worry about running his or her office smoothly rather than worrying about hiring technicians to take care of their PBX system.
Also, because a hosted PBX unifies your telecommunications needs, you will not need to worry about a maze of tangled wires running through your office or having to communicate with various telecommunication companies for different problems. The company hosting your PBX system will take care of all of these concerns. Many services exist, such as GetVoiP, which allow you to compare different companies offering hosted PBX. Furthermore, hosted PBX today offers all the services of a modern telephony system, such as call waiting, extended dialing, auto attendant, call routing, and more.
If you are looking to simplify your office’s telephony system while still saving money and time, a hosted PBX system is the way to go. This old system has evolved a lot since the days of switchboard operators in dark, windowless rooms of years ago. Nowadays, a hosted PBX can offer the modern office a telephony system that is efficient, cheap, and with all of the most modern services.
