What is the best communication system for your business: PABX or VoIP? While each system has its unique use cases, choosing the right system depends on your business requirements. This blog will look at the contrast between a PABX and VoIP system you can choose the one that is just perfect for your company.

What is PABX?

In a business environment PABX — Private Automatic Branch Exchange is an old school solution of making and receiving phone calls. For helping its employees to interact within Vizito and outside, managing call routing between different extensions. PABX systems are based on physical phone lines, which can lead to the need for onsite hardware to run them.

Key Features of PABX

• Call Routing: PABX systems can divert calls to different divisions or employees within the company.
• Conference Calls: most PABXs supported the facility whereby many employees could communicate with one another at a time.
• Call Management: PABX offers Call Hold,Call Transfer and Voicemail services.

Benefits of PABX

• Reliability: PABX systems are very stable and do not have downtime for many years.
• Internal Communication: For forwarding the calls internally, it is the best solution.
• Customizable Features:Custom Hold Queue, Voicemail and music on hold.

But neither the low cost of PABX nor is it modern enough to provide and meet businesses ever-changing needs. This often results in more expensive setup and maintenance because it usually requires physical hardware.

What is VoIP?

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) — This is a newer system that uses the internet to connect calls. Compared to a PABX, VoIP systems are almost always internet-based and have very little hardware needed in comparison. They are famous for their extensibilities and scalability which can be useful for any enterprise domain.

Key Features of VoIP

• Internet-based Calls: It uses broadband internet connection to transmit the voice calls between users.
  
• Advanced Communication Tools: This means it often also blends easily with a library of video conference, messaging and file sharing apps.
  
• Mobile Flexibility: VoIP systems are able to be accessed by employees from mobile devices or computers which means your team can work from your London office or in a cafe in Japan.

Benefits of VoIP

• Cost-Effective: In general, VoIP can be installed and maintained much cheaper than other phone systems.
• Scalability: No extra hardware required for adding new users
• Advanced Features: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) – VoIP is the availability of video conferencing, call recording and, remote access.
• Flexibility: Those employees can place and take calls from any internet-connected location.

PABX vs. VoIP: A Detailed Comparison

1. Cost

• PABX: Hardware needs to be established with the installation and servicing of technicians up which makes initial set-up, as well as maintenance cost way high.
• VoIP: VoIP hardware comes with a very minimal upfront cost (IP phones for around 20$/each), and the running of VoIP hardware doesn´t eat too much money out of your small business budget.

2. Scalability

• PABX: Not very scalable. To have more lines or users, physical adjustments to the infrastructure are called for
• VoIP: Can scale easily – all you have to do is add new users or lines which can be done via software and not physical(add a few more years)

3. Mobility

• PABX: Office-centric due to physical infrastructure – really hard to work remotely
• VoIP: It is more mobile; hence it does not require employees to be logged into a particular network, making it an excellent option for organizations that have remote teams.

4. Call Quality

• PABX: Unified call quality as it is not reliant on internet bandwidth.
• VoIP: Depending on how good your internet connection is, call quality can range greatly. A solid network configuration must be deployed, so that the messaging between applications is reliable.

5. Installation and Maintenance

• PABX: Installation is an involved process that requires hardware to be on-premises, and typically needs a specialized technician for maintenance.
• VoIP: Infrastructure is usually ready to use with software-only installation Remote maintenance by IT support is possible in many cases.

PABX vs. VoIP: Which is Better?

Whether you decide on PABX or VoIP will come down to your particular circumstance in conducting business.

Choose PABX If:

• You want a super dependable method of in-house communication for your business.
• You like to run your telephony traditional as you can with minimal reliance on the internet.
• You can foot the bill for upfront costs and ongoing maintenance.

Choose VoIP If:

• A communication system that scales to support remote work
• And you want more sophisticated communication tools — e.g. Video Conferencing.
• Your business has a stable internet connection and is searching for cost-saving methods of operation.

Conclusion

Before opting for the best between PABX and VoIP, it is also important to analyze what is needed by your business for communication. PABX may provide more capabilities, stability and can be less expensive than VoIP for most traditional businesses, while VoIP offers additional business features and more budget-friendly options for modern organisations. Take a look at your budget, how you prefer to communicate and where you see yourself long term.

In the end, it all comes down to how much flexibility you require compared to consistency and reliability— VoIP for those who are looking towards the future of communications, while PABX if everything is running great still.