Virtual PBX Systems

When researching what is the best way to set up business communications, you may have come across the terms “virtual or cloud PBX” or “hosted PBX,” and many more types of phone systems. Here we will discuss what a virtual PBX system is, its benefits, limitations, and features so you can get a better understanding of this phone system and how it can benefit your business.

What is Virtual PBX?

A virtual PBX — a type of hosted PBX system — is a business voice over IP private branch exchange system (PBX). In other words, it is a PBX system that works over the internet and routes calls virtually. Other names include: hosted PBX and cloud PBX.

Virtual PBX systems are hosted and handled by an offsite VoIP service provider. This means that your business does not have to bother with hardware issues or conduct maintenance checks.

Benefits of Cloud PBX

Virtual PBX systems are popular with various business types — small businesses, remote companies, start-up, large enterprises — for a variety of reasons such as:

Offering inexpensive business voice over IP services to small and medium-sized businesses
Great for companies with a small budget and limited calling needs
One platform for unified communications such as voice, video, text, etc.
Service does not require a contract or long-term commitment
Reduced costs of hiring an IT team to manage and maintain an on-premise PBX system
Comes packed with useful virtual communication features

Features Included in Virtual PBX

Besides the obvious benefits of not needing to hire an IT team or worrying about maintaining a PBX system on-premise, a cloud PBX system can also deliver some common and useful virtual phone features, such as:

Call management and routing tools: forward calls based on time, skill, and to different departments
Call transfer: to transfer calls between different departments
IVR system: an automated voice response system that interacts with callers and directs them to the most appropriate agent or employee
Call recording: recording business calls for quality assurance purposes

Note that features offered vary depending on the provider. Furthermore, it is a good idea to check with your provider to get the exact details on what comes along with your virtual PBX system.

Cloud vs On-Premise PBX

If you’re wondering whether your business requires a virtual (cloud) or on-premise PBX system, then comparing the pros and cons will prove helpful. Let’s look at the benefits and limitations of each type of PBX system:

	Cloud PBX system	On-premise PBX system
Pros	Can be managed easily No set-up or extra hardware costs No need to maintain hardware IT team not required Ideal for small business teams	Full control over the system Can customize the system and add necessary security features Can rely on the in-house IT team for quick fixes as well as major concerns
Cons	Provider’s customer support or troubleshooting help may be poor; depends on the provider Your business’ service is lost if the provider’s network is lost Not much control over the system	Requires a trained and experienced IT staff Hardware set-up and maintenance costs Expensive for small teams

Get PBX with Global Call Forwarding

Think a virtual PBX system may be the way to go for your business? Learn more about virtual PBX systems and how they can benefit your specific business by talking to one of our experts today.