As a business in the UAE, a business phone system is necessary but choosing the right one can be tricky. With so many options available, it’s important to think carefully about what’s best for you. If you were searching to buy a phone system for small business online, you have probably seen two terms: PBX and VoIP. These are your main choices for business phones.
PBX systems have been used for many years, while VoIP is a newer option with lots to offer. Both have their good and bad points that you need to know before choosing which one might be best suitable particularly for your business.
That is why in this article, we are going to explore the difference between PBX vs. VoIP and the benefits of using each one. By the end, you will have a better idea of which system could work best for your company.
PBX Vs. VoIP: Which One is Suitable for Your Business
1. Setup and Maintenance Cost
The setting and up cost and maintenance costs are important to think about when you’re choosing between PBX and VoIP for your business.
- PBX systems cost a lot to set up at first. You need to buy things like routers, servers, and gateways. You also have to pay for phone lines, power, and setting everything up.
- VoIP is different. You just pay a small fee every month. It costs lesser because you will have to pay for the plan you choose and that is it. All your business needs is good internet and some phones (special VoIP phones or just software).
Businesses that switch to VoIP usually save 50%-75%. If you have a small business, you could save about 45% each month on phone costs compared to old-style phone system for small business.
Taking care of the system costs money too. With PBX, you need to hire IT people because it is complicated. But with VoIP, another company usually takes care of it for you. This means less work for your business.
2. Scalability
When you are picking a phone system, you need to think about how your business might grow. This is called scalability.
If you want to make your PBX system bigger, you usually have to buy new equipment to add more phone lines. This takes time and costs a lot, especially if you move to a new office. You’d have to build the whole PBX system again from scratch.
VoIP is much easier to make bigger. You just add more users or features to your plan. All you need are some more phones and maybe faster internet. VoIP is better in terms of growing your business in easy way.
3. Features and Functionality
For many small businesses, being able to have conference calls with VoIP helps them get more work done.
Both PBX and VoIP let you make normal calls, but VoIP can do a lot more cool things. Many VoIP plans include video calls, instant messages, connections to your customer systems, and detailed information about your calls. VoIP also has apps that make it easier to work from home.
PBX systems are not good with these features. They are tied to one place, so they do not help with remote work. If you want to use them on your phone, you usually need special apps.
4. Security and Reliability
When you are comparing PBX and VoIP, you need to think about a business phone system that is safe and reliable.
PBX systems use hardware in your office and old-style phone lines, not the internet. This makes them safer and more reliable because they can not be attacked over the internet. But PBX systems can have problems when:
- The power goes out
- Someone breaks into your office
- The hardware breaks down
VoIP systems can be attacked by hackers because they use the internet. This makes people worry about VoIP security. But VoIP companies use strong ways to keep your calls safe, like:
- Scrambling your calls so no one else can understand them
- Watching your networks all the time for problems
- Making you prove who you are in two different ways
- Using firewalls to block attacks
VoIP companies also follow rules to keep your information safe, like GDPR, HIPAA, PCI, and SOC 2 Type 2. If something goes wrong, VoIP systems have ways to keep working. With PBX, it is harder to keep things running when there is a problem.
5. Call Quality
When VoIP first came out, the calls did not sound very promising. That is why some businesses still rely on PBX. But now, VoIP calls can sound even better than regular phone calls. PBX systems usually have good call quality, but they depend on hardware. If something goes wrong with the equipment, your calls might not sound good.
VoIP depends on the internet. If your internet isn’t good, your calls might drop. But VoIP companies now use backup power and make sure you have enough internet speed to avoid problems.
6. Suitability
PBX systems cost a lot and need special equipment, so they are better for big companies with lots of money. VoIP is easy to make bigger and does not cost as much, so it is good for all kinds of businesses, especially small ones.
7. International Calls
Calling far away places often costs a lot with PBX systems. VoIP makes these calls much cheaper. So if your business requires to call places in distance then you might have to spend a higher than VoIP.
8. Customization
It is hard to change PBX systems to fit what you want, and you need experts to do it. With VoIP, you can easily change things yourself on websites.
Final Thoughts
In short, just like we have learned about both PBX and VoIP systems, each has its own strengths and weaknesses. PBX is a system you can trust for making phone calls safely. But the cost is something that you should keep in your mind as it requires a lot of money to set up and maintain. Also, if you want your business to grow fast, PBX might not be able to keep up easily.
The only thing that might make VoIP not work well is if you have poor internet. But in today’s world, where good internet is common, this is not usually a problem.
This is all about the differences between PBX vs. VoIP. No matter which one you pick for your business, remember that it is really important to invest in good communication tools. You can reach out to a 3CX partner who can help you with your business phone systems other businesses in today’s connected world.