Everything You Need to Know about PABX Phone Systems

Everything You Need to Know about PABX Phone Systems

A Private Automatic Branch Exchange (PABX) is an automatic telephone switching system employed within and by private businesses, organizations, and enterprises. Originally known as Private Branch Exchanges, or PBX, the systems needed live operators and have evolved since then and are now used interchangeably with PABX, having effectively evolved. PABX systems are of great assistance in larger organizations with lots of staff and work as a company’s scaled down, smaller and private version of a central switching location. PABX systems make use of single access number with multiple lines, thereby controlling all outgoing and incoming, connecting callers outside with extension lines within the company, as well as connecting internal extensions with each other. PABX systems can be customized to suit specific business needs, and users can easily go on adding newer features and lines as the business grows and expands.

Here are the features of a good PABX system.

They should be NBN-ready
The best PABX phone systems are those that are National Broadband Network (NBN) ready. With VOIP systems poised to take over the copper phone lines systems entirely in a few years, it doesn’t make sense to invest in phone systems that need to be replaced soon enough or require additional and expensive hardware setup.

Voicemail to e-mail
Gone are the days when traditional voicemail ruled the roost when it came to professional phone systems. Today is the day and age of the voicemail-to-email, which is the topmost requested feature in PABX phone systems. This feature allows users to retrieve important voicemail messages from their smartphones while they’re not in the office; thus, saving time and money avoiding handwritten messages that could be misspelled and even avoiding missed calls, allowing for more effective use of business resources. What’s more is that PABX systems also allow users to allocate who can use the voicemail feature and who can’t.

Hands-free speakerphones
Hands-free speakerphones are a part of a good PABX system as they allow for working while waiting on hold simultaneously, dialing numbers sans picking up the phone, sharing calls in the form of conference calls, which are as good as speaking with someone sitting in your office, and allowing for continuing using the PC while also being part of a phone conversation. Today, most PABX systems phones have this functionality.

On-hold messages/music
The professionalism of a business can also be seen in the on-hold messages/music on their PABX phones systems. This functionality provides customers with a message/greeting when their call is being transferred or while waiting in a call queue. Different day- and night-time messages allow for businesses to attend accordingly to callers depending on whether they are open or not; thus, ensuring one never misses a call. During peak time periods, similarly, calls don’t go unanswered as the system picks up the call and greets the caller with a message, thus being programmed to the businesses’ needs.

Call transfers
The best PABX systems are those which are able to answer and put on hold multiple calls at the same time and be able to transfer seamlessly to the specific lines. This may sound simple enough but it becomes a task to handle if the business doesn’t have the right type of lines paired with it.

Professional recording messages
The greeting message on the PBAX system is the first point of contact the business has with its customers. Effective and good PABX systems allow for professional recordings in the form of different night and daytime greetings and playing messages after the phone rings for n rings to assure the caller that their call will be answered. There are systems in the market which can answer and hold more than 100 calls at the same time.

Auto attendant
PABX systems have the “auto attendant” feature that allows businesses to direct customer calls to the right place without having to have a receptionist answer the phones. This not only allows businesses to reduce their wait time for customers by directing them where they want to go but also allows for huge money savings on reception costs.

Single button dialing/speed dialing
Speed dialing is of two kinds: basic handset dialing and the computer-based CTI software that allows for dialing numbers from desktop phonebooks. Good PABX systems allow add-on terminals that can handle double-digit direct speed dials.

Add-on accessories
Today, at the request of many customers, good PABX systems have add-on accessories such as wireless headsets which are DECT or Bluetooth-enabled. Another feature of good PABX systems is the presence of multiple pairing, which allows users to switch between calls from mobile phones and PABX systems.

Apart from the above, good PABX systems also have conference-calling features. If you’re looking to buy one, the above features will go a long way in helping you decide.