Communication has always been the backbone of any successful business — and that is still true today. A reliable and efficient phone system can make all the difference in enhancing communication within your organisation and with your customers.
With advancements in technology, businesses now have several options to choose from when it comes to phone systems. The most common communication systems used in the business world today are Traditional PABX and VoIP.
Traditional PABX is a legacy system that has become somewhat outdated and expensive to maintain, so many businesses are looking to reduce costs by adding VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) to their existing systems.
Want to know whether your VoIP services can be connected to your existing PBX system? Keep reading to find out.
PABX uses landlines and on-site physical hardware to send and receive calls between different points.
Aside from the obvious physical differences, there are some other key discrepancies between the two:
- Traditional PABX requires a large upfront investment to install all the required hardware and components. On the other hand, VoIP requires little equipment — just a device and an internet connection.
- Traditional PABX requires you to invest even more money to keep the system running. Your main expenses will be geared towards maintenance and staff.
From these differences, it’s clear that VoIP is the future. It’s much more affordable, more convenient, and more reliable. But the question for many businesses is this: what do we do if we’ve already invested in legacy Traditional PABX systems?
Can They Be Connected?
Technology advances incredibly quickly, and while Traditional PABX might have been the cutting-edge technology a few years ago, it’s now been overtaken by it has been revived by VoIP.
Many businesses have already invested a lot of money into their Traditional PABX systems, and to simply make them redundant would be a waste. Luckily, you can upgrade your Traditional PABX system and hop onto the VoIP train.
There are two different PABX systems (TDM PABX and IP PABX), and each one requires a unique solution to connect the system to VoIP, here’s why:
Traditional PABXs called TDM (Time Division Multiplexers) PABXes use analogue signals and connect to PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). The PSTN is a network made up of telephone lines, fibre optic cables, switching centres, satellites, and cable systems.
In order for TDM PABX to use VoIP, analogue signals need to be converted to digital signals. TDM PABXs can connect to VoIP providers through VoIP gateways, which convert analogue traffic into packets of data for transmission over the Internet. A VoIP gateway is a 3rd party piece of hardware that is added by an ICT provider or specialist.
With more modern IP PABX, digital signals are sent over the internet via a SIP trunk, a card within the IP PABX provided by the manufacturer. In order to break out to a PSTN, a business will need to purchase a special card from the PABX vendor to convert digital signals to analogue signals, but this is rarely done and VoIP is far more cost-effective than PSTN.
Final Thoughts
The PABX system might be outdated and costing you money, but the good news is that you can upgrade it simply by connecting it to VoIP. Doing so will modernise your business while helping you to save on costs. It’s one of the best ways to transform your legacy PBX system and make it relevant again.
