PBX systems were designed for businesses. The private branch exchange system serves organizations, offices, and businesses by establishing an internal network of telephones. Business PBX is a redundant term in this sense, though today residential VoIP services may be based on PBX systems.
In the 1990s innovations led to new PBX technology, namely VoIP and hosted PBX. VoIP and hosted PBX allowed smaller businesses to take advantage of complex PBX functions and features that were not practical before. In the past, PBX systems were incredibly complicated and expensive to setup and maintain, making it difficult for small businesses to use.
There are other business telecommunications systems such as Centrex, but business PBX systems have become versatile enough to offer equal or greater features for similar cost.
Small Businesses
Business PBX is available for SOHO, SMB, etc. Business PBX providers have a variety of options and scalable systems.
Hosted PBX
Hosted business PBX is housed off-site with the provider. No hardware beyond phones and an Internet router are required. A hosted PBX is charged per user, which is cheaper for smaller businesses than installing expensive equipment to run a PBX on-site.
Virtual PBX
Virtual PBX for business is a stripped down hosted PBX, and is usually designed for very small enterprises. Outbound calling is not usually included.
Larger Businesses
IP PBX
On-premises IP PBX is useful for large businesses, where paying for each user is impractical. Large business PBX systems need far more maintenance, but an IP PBX can save money by using software to replace PSTN equipment. An alternative is Managed PBX, which is still on-site but maintained by the service provider.
April 7, 2023
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