IP phone system: on-site, IP PBX or cloud? How to decide

• PBX A private exchange that connects extensions to each other and to the outside world.
• PABX Exactly the same; the "A" for automatic dates from the days of switchboard operators. Paying more for a PABX is paying for a letter.
• IP PBX A phone system that routes calls over the data network.
• VoIP The voice over IP technology; not a product.
• SIP trunk The connection to the carrier that replaces physical lines.
• Cloud PBX An IP PBX hosted by a provider and paid for by subscription.

1. How many sites do you have? With just one, every option works. With two or more, the cloud moves ahead.
2. How many people work outside the office? If it is a lot, the choice is practically made.
3. What internet do you have? Voice uses little bandwidth, but does not tolerate latency variation or packet loss.
4. How many calls at the same time? Almost everyone overestimates. Thirty people rarely occupy more than eight to ten channels.
5. Which integrations do you want? Identifying the customer in the CRM, recording calls or having call queues narrows the options. Discuss this before discussing price.

Moving to the cloud? Measure the connection at peak time first and have a second backup connection. With the PBX outside the building, internet down means a company without a phone.

On-premises PBX: licences per extension, server or appliance, IP phones, installation and numbering plan, annual maintenance, SIP trunk and call traffic.

Cloud PBX: a monthly fee per user, which is the biggest slice, phones, initial set-up with number porting and call traffic.

The on-premises solution weighs heavily at the start and is cheap afterwards. The cloud starts light and always charges the same. Fast-growing companies rarely regret the cloud. Those with a single office and a stable team tend to spend less with their own PBX after four or five years. Beware of the per-user price: going from 30 to 60 people doubles the bill without anyone deciding anything.

• Start with number porting It has legal deadlines and depends on the current carrier. It sets the timetable.
• Run both systems in parallel Divert a test number, validate quality, train the team and only switch the main numbers at the end.
• Avoid Fridays A fault discovered on Friday afternoon lasts until Monday.
• Redesign call routing Who answers first, what happens out of hours, where an unanswered call goes. This is worth more than any catalogue feature.

• Buying from the catalogue Every PBX has dozens of features; most companies use five.
• Forgetting the network "the voice is bad" is often fixed in the structured cabling and internal network.
• No UPS A power cut leaves the company without phones.
• Not testing out of hours Some only discover months later that night-time calls were reaching nobody.
• A PBX open to the internet It attracts toll fraud, and the damage shows up on the next bill. Protect it with managed firewalls.

DataRoad installs and manages IP PBX phone systems, on-premises or in the cloud, with porting of your numbers and integration into the existing network, within an IT Unlimited contract. Request a no-commitment proposal.

More than 10 workstations · support contract · remote, on-site and telephone support. +351 211 459 950 * · sales@dataroad.pt

*Call to a Portuguese landline.