adeaum-com

This guide tries to help you understand what exactly IP PBX is and what you need to start a successful IP PBX business.

FIRST THINGS FIRST – WHAT EXACTLY IS IP PBX?

Years ago, before the existence of PBX, if a worker wanted to talk to another worker in the same office, the full price of the call was charged; obviously this was a huge waste of money for most businesses, so PBX was invented.

It wasn’t always IP PBX… Years before the Internet was used as much as it is today, it was plain and simple: PBX.

PBX

In 1970 the switchboard began to be used. The switchboard was a hardware-based system and was first connected by hand; this is what we call ‘manual call switching’.

This is how it worked:

• When someone called the company phone system, the call went through the main switchboard.

• The caller had the option to choose who or which department they wanted to connect with.

• Once they chose where to connect, a receptionist had to manually connect the PBX server to the phone of the person or department they wanted to call.

• Once the call ended, it had to be disconnected.

Obviously, this had many disadvantages. First of all, companies had to pay someone to connect and disconnect all those cables. Second, the number of cables running around must have caused a real mess. Also, these systems were very expensive, so only large companies could afford one.

That’s why a change was necessary…

It wasn’t long before a system was invented to connect those cables automatically.

Now there were two types of systems:

• ‘private automated branch exchange’ (PABX) – which was the system that connected the cables automatically, and was used by the big and rich companies

• ‘private manual branch exchange‘ (PMBX) – the system where one had to manually connect cables, which was used by regular companies

Slowly but surely, PMBX disappeared from the market, with only PABX later becoming PBX, short for ‘private branch exchange’.

When VoIP began to become popular in the 1990s, PBXs began to evolve into IP PBXs (Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange) as businesses found this to be an easy way to save money. Internet calls are charged at a fraction of the price of regular calls.

Over the years, IP PBX has improved dramatically and more features are being added all the time.

NOW THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT IP PBX IS, LET’S SEE HOW IT WORKS…

The IP PBX is basically a telephone network within a company that allows free calls between different users (internal calls). Calls outside the network (external calls) can also be made, but they probably won’t be free. IP PBX calls are made using VoIP, so even though external calls are charged, they will still be much cheaper than regular phone calls.

IP PBX offers many features, such as call queue, call transfer, voice mail, call recording, voice menus, etc. more than regular calls.

For a business to set up an IP PBX system, they will need an IP PBX server, one or more IP or softphones, and an optional gateway (for external calls).

The IP or softphones will need to register with the server so that the server has some kind of list of all users connected to it.

When a company worker wants to call another worker, this is what will happen:

• The person who wants to make the call will ‘ask’ the server to establish a connection

• The server has a list of all users and phones and their IP addresses, using these IP addresses internal calls are made

• For external calls, the server will make use of a gateway or VoIP provider

• Users can call with the system anywhere they have Internet access. This means that not everyone has to be working from the same office, they can be working from home or from different offices.

The IP PBX also handles incoming calls and can easily direct callers to the person or department they want to call.

• The system can be connected to one or several phone numbers

• Businesses can choose to have a personalized greeting that callers will hear when they call. If there are multiple phone numbers, there may be separate greetings for each number. Businesses can choose to have a personalized greeting outside of business hours only.

• Businesses can choose to have a personalized menu where callers can choose which person or department they want to call. Businesses can also choose to have their receptionist answer calls and direct callers to the appropriate person/department.

• Companies can choose to record a message for when a person in the company or department is not available.

• The IP PBX system will ensure that the call connection is stable for the duration of the call and that the connection is closed when the call ends.

• There are additional features like call queue, hold, call transfer, etc. that some providers will offer. Businesses can also choose to play personalized music or announcements while callers wait to be connected.

ADVANTAGES OF THE IP PBX FOR BUSINESSES

• IP PBX makes internal calls easier, more efficient and free. This contributes to the smooth running of a business.

• If there is an automatic menu then it saves money because there is no receptionist answering

• Workers can connect to the system even if they are not in the office. This means workers can easily work from home and stay connected. Workers can also work from different offices and be connected to the same telephone network. It’s easy to add or remove phones from the system as there are no cables involved. This means that as the company grows, the system can grow with it.

In addition to the benefits for the company itself, there are also benefits for the company’s customers.

• Only one number is needed for customers to call anyone in the company.

• When the call menu is automatic, it saves time as it is faster than when a receptionist has to answer and direct the call and it is less likely that they will connect with the wrong person.

This also benefits the businesses themselves, as customers are more likely to deal with businesses that have good phone systems than with businesses that don’t.

A NEW REVOLUTION – HOSTED IP PBX

Hosted means that there is no physical IP PBX system in the office. Everything is in the cloud. Companies will basically rent the system from their provider. The system will be at the provider’s office and all the company needs to connect is an Internet connection.

More and more businesses these days are turning to hosted systems instead of their own because they offer many benefits including:

• no upfront charge

• no installation costs

• when the software is updated, companies with Hosted IP PBXs can simply download the update

The downside of hosted systems is that there is not as much customization compared to homegrown systems.

When it comes to choosing between hosted or proprietary IP PBX systems, small to medium-sized businesses with up to 300 users are advised to use hosted systems, while larger businesses are better off with their own system.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO START OFFERING IP PBX TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

You will need IP PBX software to start offering these services to your customers. This is basically a softswitch with an IP PBX module. You can buy or rent one. If you are just starting out, it might be better to rent as it is much cheaper. If you are already offering VoIP services and just adding IP PBX, you can use the same softswitch but you will need to get the IP PBX module.

Before you can decide what you’ll need to start offering IP PBX services, you need to decide what kind of customers you’ll be targeting. If you want to offer your services to small and medium-sized businesses, then it is best to offer hosted services. If you want to offer services to larger companies, offer regular IP PBXs. If you’re already offering VoIP services to your customers, decide what your customers would prefer and offer it.

WHAT YOUR IP PBX CUSTOMERS WILL EXPECT FROM YOU

When you start offering IP PBX systems to your customers, there are a few things they will expect from you:

• As with all VoIP systems, there is an issue with privacy and security. Your customers will want to make sure that the phone numbers of your customers, vendors, etc. are you sure. That is why you will have to show them that you are trustworthy and that you will never give their information to third parties.

• They will expect good quality at a low price.

• They want their system to save them money and time

• It has to be easy to set up

• They may want additional features like voicemail, call forwarding, queuing, waiting, options for smartphones and tablets, etc.

• They’ll also want excellent customer service in case something goes wrong.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO TALK WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS BEFORE STARTING WITH IP PBX…

When offering your clients IP PBX services you will need to help them decide on a couple of points to help them get the most out of their system:

• What hours of the day will the phone system work? What will happen when I am out of business hours? Will there be a personalized message?

• When will voicemail appear? Only after hours? Or when an extension is busy?

• When multiple calls come in at the same time, how should the server handle them?

• Some IP PBX providers will offer a feature that allows businesses to see what number callers are calling. This is useful for businesses that have multiple phone numbers connected to the same server and want to know which number the caller used to make that call.

• Before the IP PBX can be used, a directory must be created with all the phones that will be connected to it.

Because the IP PBX market is growing so fast, there are endless opportunities to offer IP PBXs. Whether you want to cater to large, medium or small businesses, if done correctly it can become a very lucrative business.