You can promote a professional image for your brand and improve communication with a commercial-grade PBX system.
Like other technologies, PBX telephony is moving to the cloud. Accordingly, business owners must understand the underlying technology that supports modern PBX systems.
Increasingly, companies route calls through the internet, rather than using traditional phone lines. Still, today’s technology-driven PBX systems do the same job. They route calls and ensure that they make it to their destination.
Read on to learn how today’s PBX systems go to work for your business.
Modern PBX Systems Explained
In the past, if a large business needed hundreds of extensions, it required an independent switching facility. A telephone exchange for a large company could take up an entire room. There, mechanical circuits switched calls to connect subscribers.
At that time, it wouldn’t make sense to run hundreds of lines from the phone company to every desk that needed a phone. Therefore, the companies ran trunk lines from an on-site switching facility.
From there, the trunk lines served each extension. This arrangement was known as a Private Branch Exchange (PBX).
With the introduction of the internet, all of this has changed. Now, even a startup company with many extensions can set up a commercial-grade PBX system without the need for a lot of equipment, real estate, or cash.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) lets companies transmit calls as packets of data over the internet. This method replaces traditional phone lines.
Despite this improvement, businesses still need to route calls. Now, VoIP PBX technology routes phone calls through virtual endpoints over the internet.
Modern PBX systems, however, do much more than transmit voice signals. They allow companies to manage video calls, conference calls, instant messages, and more.
VoIP PBX systems do so much that it seems misleading to continue to use the name PBX to describe them. Now, they do the same job and more – and they do it exceptionally well.
SIP and PBX Go Hand-In-Hand
An increasing number of businesses are embracing cloud-based PBX systems. As they do, the technology that supports it grows increasingly relevant. That technology is called Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).
Businesses must partner with a SIP trunk service provider to support the transition of telephony and other communications infrastructure to the cloud. SIP initiates, maintains, modifies and terminates real-time voice and video connections over the internet.
A SIP trunk connects your business PBX system to the internet to support communication. Compared to traditional hardlines, SIP trunking is more reliable, flexible, and easier to manage. Also, it’s fast and easy to deploy across an organization.
Because of these benefits, large organizations have transitioned to cloud-based communications. The technology is becoming increasingly popular because it offers businesses greater control over communications. For instance, SIP enables enterprises to manage features internally, such as:
- Call routing
- Cloud-based services
- Cloud-based systems
- External calls
- Internal calls
- Sessions
- Subscriber plans
SIP trunking also enables business leaders to develop customized solutions for their unique needs.
Typically, a business will use a handful of conferencing and PBX services. SIP trunking ties those services together. This technology is especially vital in a newly emerging work environment, where a significant segment of employees now work from home.
As more companies gravitate toward digital communication, a growing number of SIP service providers enter the market. This flood of service providers, however, creates a new problem for business leaders – finding a SIP service provider that they can trust.
Which SIP Service Provider Is Right for You?
SIP-enabled PBX service is a cost-effective way to improve communication for your business. However, the popularity of the service has compelled more providers to enter the market.
Because of this, it’s more difficult for business and IT leaders to figure out who to turn to when they need the service.
Before you choose a provider, there are a few things that you should investigate. For example, you should make sure that a potential SIP trunking service provider supports commercial-grade communication.
If every call isn’t crystal-clear, the other benefits of the service offer no value. Also, look for a provider with a redundant infrastructure to ensure service reliability.
Additionally, you must pay attention to the cost of a service. It costs less to make local and international calls over a SIP network. If a potential SIP service provider tries to charge you close to or more than what you pay for traditional phone service, this should raise a red flag.
A top SIP service provider will typically offer a pay as you go pricing model. This model will allow you to try services out as you figure out what works best for your business.
It’s also essential that your SIP service provider’s platform works with standard soft switches and PBX systems. You also want to work with a SIP trunking service that allows you to expand the service easily and without the need to invest in additional equipment.
Honing in on a Winner
Once you narrow down your choices, you should take a closer look at your potential providers. For example, find out about the company’s developers and IT experts. You want to find a SIP service provider that employs dedicated, passionate professionals.
Today’s SIP-enabled PBX systems are much easier to use. However, they’re highly sophisticated. A team of dedicated professionals will ensure that you achieve the best results with your new PBX service.
Top SIP providers typically offer prepackaged solutions. These products serve as a launching point for understanding the services that will work best for your organization. Because SIP-enabled PBX service is flexible, you can easily make changes as needed.
Are You Ready for Elevated Communication?
At SIP.US, dedicated telecom experts and software developers have worked tirelessly to create a high-performing, reliable PBX service. We’ve designed our solutions for seamless deployment across your organization.
No matter what services your company needs, we can develop the perfect customized solution for your business. Most importantly, our experts will show you how your enterprise can achieve significant cost savings.
Get started today to find out how SIP.US can introduce your organization to a new level of commercial-grade PBX service.