For many years business phone systems have been powered by on-premises PBX hardware, then moved to virtual PBX with the intent of reducing the limitations of the former solution.
Being a Cloud Provider, we are not going to bore you by delving into the reasons why a hardware PBX may be a disadvantageous technology choice in terms of investment and functionality, let alone about choosing one virtual PBX over another. The aim of this article is to take the discussion a step further: to give you some insight into your current solutions and propose an alternative, if not an full integration, that is functional and efficient for your needs.
Since the rise of Microsoft Teams® in the world of Unified Communication and Collaboration, there has been a change of pace in communication, and the mantra "PBX is dead" has been increasingly used. Even in CloudFire it is very often quoted. How so?
Legacy PBXs and Cloud PBXs
Let's take a step back. A PBX is a business telephone system that allows inbound and outbound calls to be handled, both internally and externally to an organisation. Traditional PBX phone systems share a set number of phone numbers and lines through fixed lines which, in turn, connect them to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network).
To date, those most widely used are PBXs that connect the PSTN network with VoIP technology. This allows for less dependence on traditional lines, greater reliability and ease of management via an Internet connection.
Surely enough the cloud-hosted PBX option eliminates the initial hardware investment and reduces the ongoing maintenance expenses. Moreover, users are able to make and receive calls on the corporate line from any suitable device connected to the Internet. To top it off, such a solution results not only in saving money with regard to the initial investment, but also in optimising the costs and resources that are actually needed.
PBX is Dead?
Although VoIP telephony solutions offer advantages that greatly differ from traditional PBX systems, they are not complete Unified Communication solutions yet, solutions that instead offer much more than traditional communication.
On the contrary, many cloud solutions include both communication and collaboration services. Such a solution includes more features, such as: instant messaging, Web conferencing, video, documents, and sharing.
So let's return to the original question: why, according to many, is the PBX switchboard dead (or nearly dead)?
Simply put, Microsoft Teams® and many other Unified Communication solutions have entered the world of telecommunications. Given their success, especially during pandemic times, they have redefined the needs and choices of business entities regarding their communications.
In recent years, corporate communication has indeed changed:
- Organisations are increasingly flexible, with dematerialised offices and greater availability for working remotely;
- With greater collaboration and efficient tools, the work model has definitely been transformed,
- Orientation towards the cloud is greater, and the number of users moving away from on premise PBXs is constantly increasing;
- Greater flexibility in cost, management, maintenance, and integration with other tools is required.
Specifically, many organisations already use Microsoft Teams® and the suite of integrated services, such as instant messaging, video conferencing, document sharing, and various applications to enhance workplace collaboration. It has also been possible to combine this range of integrated services with traditional telephony and comprehensive business communication needs.
At this point, there are mainly two options available:
- Opt entirely for a UC solution, thus replacing all legacy tools which do not meet the new requirements. This choice certainly proves onerous in terms of cost, resources, skills and general effort in having to change known solutions;
- Integrate an existing solution with Microsoft Teams®.
Talky Time responds to the second option. With Talky Time - Direct Routing you can integrate the PBX solution you already use to the Microsoft Teams® suite with just a few steps through a cloud-to-cloud app.
At this point PBX is indeed dead, or it almost is. But with CloudFire it can still be saved, find out more about Talky Time!
