|
|
|
IP PBX Overview
What is an IP-PBX?
An IP-PBX is a customer premises business phone system that manages telephones throughout the enterprise and acts as a gateway to both voice and data networks. An IP-PBX allows you to place calls using a network instead of standard telephone infrastructure. Telephones can be connected to the IP-PBX via the network and calls can be routed via the network instead of the standard public switched telephone network.
How it works
With VoIP, an IP-PBX is used to distribute calls throughout an organization. In practice, such an IP-PBX is actually software running on a computer server. Once received by the IP-PBX and inside the organization, the call may be carried through a data network or via digital or analog communication lines to recipient endpoints. If calls are distributed inside the organization on a data network, the need for a dedicated communications circuit is eliminated and the calls can be carried on the internal LAN as data packets.
Voice signals are transmitted over the data network in packets just like other data, so that the data circuit does many jobs, including carrying voice, alphanumeric data and possibly video. While IP telephony solutions can vary significantly in complexity, scalability and features, they include all of the familiar telephony features such as conferencing, call forwarding, transferring, voicemail and others, with the inherent benefits of efficiency and low cost of transmission over high-bandwidth data networks
What’s Different About an IP-PBX?
The benefits of an IP-PBX to any enterprise are similar to and different from the benefits of a VoIP system in general.
Obviously the cost savings and reduction in basic wiring infrastructure from needing only one network for communication instead of two are clear.
And the savings from the lower basic cost of completing external calls are also clear.
But IP-PBX brings far greater benefits because of manageability, upgradeability and enhanced feature sets.
Even in businesses as small as five employees, the benefits of an IP-PBX can be profound.
If telecommunications and voice calling are critical parts of your business then the use of an IP-PBX and VoIP telephone system may well provide both cost savings and a great jump in capabilities and efficiency.
Even with an on-premise solution.
However, businesses as small as five people should also seriously look into a hosted PBX solution.
An additional more hidden benefit is that there is a huge reduction in the costs associated with moving, adding and removing users from the system.
In many IP-PBX systems, users can even log in transparently to any end telephone in the system and immediately have the system make that phone operate as ‘their’ phone until they log in somewhere else.
All IP-PBX systems radically simplify and reduce the costs associated with growth and reduction in size of the system as well as reduce basic operating and maintenance costs.
Basic Features
Residential and very low end VoIP providers often claim to offer businesses PBX services but except for the very smallest organizations that just isn’t the case.
Besides the inherent PBX features of call switching, call completion, call connection, call termination and basic accounting that any PBX system must have, the basic features found in any low-end IP-PBX system should include:
Automated attendant – an automatic system to answer phones with the ability to build phone menu systems, add call menus, transfer to voicemail and create flexible and programmable rules to handle all of these features.
Call menus – flexible call management menus with user selectable options – a more advanced version of the traditional phone tree/menu systems.
A better quality system will allow you to have multiple sets of menus and even change them based on time or on information gleaned from caller ID.
Managing extensions – features to help the phone system administrator by allowing the addition of new extensions, removal of unneeded extensions, change of extension locations and much more from a web-based control panel.
Voicemail and voice mailboxes – any IP-PBX should allow an almost infinite number with far more flexibility than regular phone systems.
More advanced features would include the ability to record ALL incoming and outgoing conversations automatically.
Call forwarding – automatic, programmed or manual call forwarding to any number
Call hold – placing callers properly on hold with no drop off in queues with user selectable hold music and programmable options about handling hold time length.
Conference calling – handling multi-party conference calls – internally and externally
Branch office support – the ability to manage and remotely administer extensions at other offices just as easily as if they were local.
Web-based management and administration – to make it quick and easy to manage your phone system directly from a web browser – this can include the ability to add end-user configuration and management functions as well.
Some form of integration into your basic data network so that ‘click-to-call’ functionality can be added or even full blown CRM systems.
Advanced Features
Most business-class IP PBX products also provide a number of advanced features not usually found in lower-end phone systems such as:
Call routing – setting up programmed rules to route calls appropriately based on flexible criteria like caller ID or time or even next available extension in the designated call management group.
Integration with Outlook or other email systems – incoming calls can be matched with contact management records and outcoming calls can be initiated from within Outlook so users can click on contact management systems records and dial from within Outlook or other PC applications.
Voicemail to email – sending all voicemail from a mailbox to an email account where messages can be opened and listened to on a PC – as well as stored and managed.
Scalability – the ability to rapidly grow or reduce the system under your control – the better systems can scale to handle dramatically larger numbers of users – in the hundreds of users.
Scheduled call routing – handling incoming calls differently based on time received – and even setting up several systems of call management that are all different depending on time of day or day of the week.
Rights management – allowing different groups of employees different rights within the phone system for management, administration, usage and more.
Group management – managing groups of callers and call recipients
Call queue management – providing visibility into and the ability to manage incoming call queues. This can include specific call management as well as general system management of rules and varying loads, hold times, etc.
Handling both analog and IP phones – many IP-PBX systems can manage both VoIP phone systems and regular telephone systems at the same time – although not all functionality is available to regular phone users – this feature is useful for managing merged groups or multiple sites.
Hoteling – allowing users to make any physical phone in the system act as if it were any other number, so that any user can make any phone on the system act as if it were their own phone for any period of time – this feature is particularly useful for telecommuting.
Automatic ring back features – features to automatically return calls based on various programmable criteria.
Summary
IP-PBX systems are the wave of the future.
They provide small to medium sized businesses the abilities and features that are available to large enterprises and they do it while providing the potential to reduce long-term operating costs considerably.
As with any rapidly growing technology, there are a wide variety of providers and a range of features at a widely varying set of price points.
IP-PBX systems can cost as little as $700 for 5 users but the costs can grow to multiple tens of thousands or even higher as the numbers of users grow to the thousands.
It is more important to make sure that your system has the basic features that you require now for the operation of your enterprise and for its future growth.
Once that set of features is established and you have determined the service levels with which you are comfortable you can go take a hard look at the costs of the systems that match your needs and at the potential ROI.
Don’t forget that ROI number because it is certain to be to your advantage when compared with a non-VoIP, non-IP-PBX system.
The basic things you can expect and should look for in an upgrade to IP-PBX are:
Basic operating cost reductions due to lower call charges and the need for only one communications network and lower maintenance costs.
A minimal investment risk because your enterprise data network is your new backbone and it is already in place and functioning effectively.
Straightforward installation costs based on tested, reliable components connecting to a system your IT personnel already understand.
Improved efficiency and operations within your organization.
It is the last of these that is most important and critical to the success of the upgrade.
This is where the power of ‘converged networks’ (combined voice and data networks) really comes into its own in terms of providing your enterprise with more tools, capabilities and options that it has previously had.
The cost savings are essentially a bonus.
Navigating the Technology
D&A InfoTech can assist you through the entire process of sizing, selection, purchase, configuration and setup of this key element of your data infrastructure. Because we sell and support a number of manufacturers of IP PBX equipment, we can find the perfect fit for your organization's individual requirements, and deliver a complete solution at a cost and in a time frame unmatched by other system integrators.
A wide array of products are available in the market, from highly scalable enterprise solutions to those suitable for even the smallest of organiztions. D&A InfoTech has the knowledge and experience to assist in the selection, planning, configuration and support of a sophisticated, state-of-the-art infrastructure specifically suited to your individual needs and budgetary requirements.
|
|
|
|
|