What Are PBX Phone Systems?
PBX is short for "private branch exchange." A PBX phone system is a private telephone network for communication within a business or office. PBX users share one or more external lines to make calls outside the office.
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Advantages
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Most medium and large-sized companies use a PBX because it is more economical than linking each user to a separate external line.
Features
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PBX systems have features such as auto attendant, call accounting, call forwarding, call parking, call transfer, conference calling, and voice mail.
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Conventional PBX
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A conventional PBX shares and manages multiple lines within an office and automatically sends incoming calls to pre-specified extensions. It uses two networks, one for data and another for voice.
IP-PBX Systems
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PBX systems that use the Internet Protocol (IP) for communication are called IP-PBX systems. Such systems use a single data network for voice and data. In IP systems, human voice is converted into digital packets and transmitted across the network, with clear voice quality.
Advantages of IP-PBX systems
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IP-PBX systems are cheaper than conventional PBX systems and can carry out sophisticated functions such as text-to-speech conversion, or forwarding voice mail as an email to the intended recipient.
Summary
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PBX systems are an essential part of business communications. Legacy PBX systems are increasingly being replaced by IP-PBX systems because of cost and functionality advantages in a global business world.
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References
- Photo Credit phone. image by Alexander Lukyanov from Fotolia.com
