Switching to software-based PBX is a no brainer

Categories: CNC News

It is common sense to replace your traditional PBX telephone hardware with a cheaper and more flexible software solution that uses a broadband connection for voice calls.

Many companies in the South East have already made the switch because they realise it’s much cheaper than installing and maintaining PBX hardware on their premises and paying rental charges on ISDN lines.

As more companies along the south coast upgrade their telephony, IT experts are suggesting a virtual solution supported by remote server farms “in the cloud”. A company’s PBX becomes just a piece of software running on a remote server.

Gary Jowett from CNC in Brighton explained: “Making the switch is wise for all companies because of the cost benefits and flexibility it offers. A smaller firm with only a handful of employees might choose a hosted solution where their telephone system shares a server with other companies, but each PBX is kept totally separate. Larger companies may have their own dedicated server. Whatever the size of your business, you can easily expand or contract your telephone network with a simple software upgrade.”

Which is the best software-based PBX?

A lot of IT consultants across West Sussex and East Sussex are advising companies to use the software-based PBX from 3CX which runs on Windows and uses standard IP phones. All it requires is a broadband connection for the session initiation protocol (SIP) traffic to provide high-quality voice calls.

Employees can connect to the PBX from anywhere — as if they were still in the office. As all return calls to the business are free, mobile call costs can be slashed by encouraging people out in the field to make calls via the 3CX PBX.

Easy web-conferencing

The system also enables virtual meetings between employees using an integral web-conferencing tool where multiple participants can meet via audio or video, saving travel time and fuel costs. There’s no need to download additional software to participate in a meeting.

Many companies in Sussex and Surrey are already making the sensible move to a software-based PBX. Those that haven’t, would be wise to contact their IT consultant as soon as possible.

In a business world where reducing costs and increasing the flexibility of your workforce gives you the competitive edge, having a software-based PBX is a no brainer.