Uninterrupted and seamless communication between the employees holds a number of benefits. That is why unified communication has been emphasized so much in the recent times. From instant messaging and video conferencing to document sharing, the unified communications has shaped many new aspects for the businesses. Even with so many changes in trends, the importance of communication based on Private Branch Exchange (PBX) has only grown on the importance scale. But technology has kept pace with that as well.
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On the core, the businesses have to pick between the traditional PBX and Virtual PBX as their communication solution. Traditional PBX, a technology that requires on-premise hardware setup, has been a hot favorite for the businesses for many decades. But the recent decade has seen the rise of a software based technology, i.e. Virtual PBX. Common prejudices will favor that new technology is better than the older one and that is very true in the case of PBX.
Here are some of the comparisons between traditional PBX and Virtual PBX based on various factors.
Price:
With the traditional PBX, the business has to host all the hardware locally. On the other hand, Virtual PBX does not require a set of hardware to be installed in the office. But that does not mean Virtual PBX is a free or a charity service. The service is hosted by the third-party provider for which business has to pay a monthly bill. Unfortunately, this monthly billing exists with the traditional one as well.
So, with Virtual PBX, one can easily escape from paying a huge one-time payment on hardware and even the monthly bills can be quite lesser if you the service provider is smartly chosen.
Scalability:
Scalability of PBX is one of the most decisive factors because of frequent variation possibilities with extensions on PBX. Variation with the number of employees and customer increases, the connectivity between them has to be enhanced as well.
Virtual PBX overpowers the traditional PBX with scalability. Connecting more hardware frequently is not an easy task and it also bites on the pocket as well. With Virtual PBX, one simply needs to create more accounts, which is a matter of some minutes and a few clicks.
Maintenance:
Once the setup is installed and is in operation, there are various maintenance issues that can crop up with time. With traditional PBX in action the extension has be relocated as the employee is transferred to other branch; setting up new cabins may force the change in the wire layout; cables might be damaged by the rats, and so could be several reasons when your IT guys will have to struggle to keep the communication going smoothly. Had there been the Virtual PBX service operating, most issues would not have existed or have been resolved with minor tweaks in account settings.
Performance:
The performance of your communication setup maintains smooth operation in the organization and also represents your standards for customers, partners, and other possible callers. For all of the above-mentioned factors, Virtual PBX enjoyed a clear advantage over traditional PBX. The story changes a little on the performance grounds.
Traditional PBX is based on the hardware implemented by the business. Hence, its performance can be greatly improved by choosing quality hardware. The performance of Virtual PBX depends on the service provider that you choose. On-premise hardware can edge past virtual or cloud-based solution in some cases.
Now considering the effect of PBX on the performance of the employees, virtual PBX looks better. It can connect different branches on the same network and supports mobile devices as well. That means, your employees are connected better and their productivity contribution is likely to be greater. All in all, Virtual PBX does not lack on the performance either.
Wrapping Up
Unless you are planning to invest a hefty sum of money to ensure top-quality hardware and a team of IT guys, you should not choose traditional PBX for your business. Virtual PBX is affordable, easy-to-maintain, and easy-to-setup. Only possible lack can be the performance, in case the choice of PBX service provider is not meeting the standards. Otherwise, Virtual PBX is a clear winner over the old and traditional PBX.