It does not take long for some technologies to go from optional to essential. And, for the question to shift from “should we be using this technology in our organization?” to “how can we afford NOT to use this in our organization?”. Think of social media platforms. When they first hit the scene most corporations ignored these platforms. Now 97% of Fortune 500 companies use social media. Even cloud-based apps were initially treated with skepticism. Now 94% of enterprises use these apps across the world.
What is the next technology to make the shift from optional to essential? Without a doubt, the answer is virtual PBX (a.k.a. VoIP, cloud phone, or digital voice). The global hosted virtual PBX marketplace is predicted to grow from $85.2 billion in 2021 to $102.5 billion by 2026. Clearly, virtual PBX is here to stay and is only going to become more prevalent in the years ahead.
How Does Virtual PBX Work?
A conventional on-premise PBX phone system uses landlines and local hardware to connect to a phone network. Alternatively, virtual PBX uses the internet to connect to an off-site PBX host. The solutions provider houses and maintains this. There are several major benefits to this solution.
Benefits of Virtual PBX
- Large Up-Front Cost Savings: Businesses can save lots of money on virtual PBX. On-site PBX can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to start. These costs are borne entirely by the Solutions Provider.
- No Ongoing Maintenance and Support Costs: All system maintenance (including upgrades) and technical support are handled by the Solutions Provider at no extra cost. This advantage alone can save businesses tens of thousands a year in labor costs.
- Seamless Scalability: Since virtual PBX uses the internet to transmit audio/video communications, adding employees to the system is fast, easy, and affordable. There is no need to dig and install underground/in-wall wiring. Everything runs on the same infrastructure. This infrastructure is used daily to access the web, emails, etc.
- Unified Communication: Virtual PBX enables businesses to take advantage of unified calling (UC) features, such as presence, SMS/MMS, video conferencing, e-faxing, integrated voicemail, and call analytics.
- Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery: In the event of local power outages — which are happening more frequently across the country these days – virtual PBX automatically reroutes traffic to an unaffected part of the state or the country. As a result, businesses can continue to make/receive calls via smartphones or IP desk phones. This does require backup batteries. The traffic is shifted back to normal operations when the power is restored. It’s quite the opposite with an on-premise PBX solution. When the local power goes out, you have to simply wait. This problem can sometimes take hours or even days.
- Granular Control: With virtual PBX is it easy for businesses to make changes to the phone system whenever they wish through a user-friendly web portal. For example, they can toggle certain features on/off, change calling rules (forwarding, ring groups, etc.), and more.
The Bottom Line
Some technologies cause a big splash but then fade away into the dustbin of history. Technology like happy trails to pagers, floppy disks, and portable dictation devices. But other technologies re-invent the present and determine the future. Virtual PBX is among these game-changing technologies. Businesses that make the switch will reap the rewards and lead the way. Sticking with on-premise solutions will keep you locked into expensive and outdated solutions. Make the switch today to start doing more with your phone system!
Learn More
Learn more about our affordable, versatile, flexible, scalable, and reliable virtual PBX phone system. Schedule a consultation and demo. We can connect with you at your location or over the web. Call us now at (336) 544-4000.