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The standards of office communication has been seeing a competition between cloud telephony v/s traditional PBX. For a long period of time, traditional PBX remained as the only source for communication in office or elsewhere. But with time and new innovations, the shift slowly moved to cloud telephony. The field saw many cloud telephony service providers in India, but Bonvoice has withstood every passing time to emerge as the best cloud telephony service provider.
Some still hold onto old ways of communication because it feels familiar and thereby comfortable. So, let’s understand what is cloud telephony and what is traditional PBX or landline, the major differences and what will be suitable for your business to thrive.
In short, a traditional PBX is an on-premise hardware system that routes calls through landlines whereas cloud telephony works entirely over the cloud or internet. The major difference lies in their infrastructure.
Table of Contents
What is a traditional PBX system?
As discussed earlier, traditional PBX makes use of on-premise hardware and works through landlines. It is a private telephone network used within a company for communication purposes. It acts as a central switching system for your office calls. Physical telephones are connected to the PBX unit and then the calls are routed to separate departments using complex wiring. As it is a closed physical circuit, the reachability will be limited to the office space. There are several types of PBX systems. They are:
- Analog PBX: These are the traditional versions connected using standard copper phone lines.
- Digital PBX: this uses digital signals and provides better sound quality than analog which uses traditional methods.
- IP PBX: A hybrid version that works over internet protocol but still requires on-site server hardware and maintenance.
Earlier, large enterprises and call centers used these PBX systems for office communication purposes. These systems levy a huge service cost due to its complex hardware maintenance. Some workplaces still stick to this technology.
What is cloud telephony?
Cloud telephony is a cloud based alternative for your traditional phone system. It operates entirely over the internet, which is hosted by the providers’ secure cloud servers. So unlike investing a huge amount of money in traditional hardware, by using a cloud telephony service your business can eliminate all those costs as it entirely works through the internet. Also this unified communication solution brings all your channels of communication like SMS, email etc.. under one platform.
A good cloud telephony service provider offers a wide range of basic features like:
While the basic foundation of cloud telephony is VoIP, they are both different. VoIP or voice over internet protocol helps to convert the voice into data packets over the internet. While cloud telephony is a whole platform built on VoIP technology.
Key differences between Cloud telephony v/s Traditional PBX
To understand better and in detail let’s look at a simple table that shows the key differences between cloud telephony and traditional PBX.
|
Feature
|
Traditional PBX
|
Cloud Telephony
|
|---|---|---|
|
Infrastructure
|
Heavy on-site hardware
|
100% Cloud-based
|
|
Setup Cost
|
Very high (Hardware + Installation)
|
Minimal (Subscription-based)
|
|
Maintenance
|
Requires in-house IT/Technicians
|
Managed by the service provider
|
|
Scalability
|
Slow and requires new hardware
|
Instantly add users in clicks
|
|
Remote Work
|
Difficult/Impossible
|
Seamless via apps & laptops
|
|
Integrations
|
Limited and expensive
|
Native API & CRM integrations
|
|
Reliability
|
Vulnerable to local power/line cuts
|
High uptime with redundant servers
|
Limitations of traditional PBX systems
Traditional landlines have seamlessly maintained flow of communication over the past. But with the fast requirements demanded by business communication you cannot do the work with a traditional system. Your business needs to get updated with the changing times.
Some of the most common limitations of traditional PBX that can cause hindrance to your communication flow are:
- Busy networks: For small to mid range enterprises, the major challenge they face is to handle the call volume. Often they lose customers because they couldn’t reply or take the call due to their busy phone systems which leads to customer frustration and thereby churns. Also even if the staff picks up the call they will be drained too soon of their productivity which can instead be used on their tasks effectively.
- High infrastructure costs: a traditional system needs complex hardware and wiring. It is essential to have the assistance of a technician 24/7. So, even though your company pays a huge sum for the set-up, your business will have to keep a certain amount for unexpected technical issues and maintenance costs.
- Limited scalability: the on-premise hardware system is not easily scalable according to your sudden requirements like a cloud telephony system can. Your communication will be limited to the office space and set departments. Otherwise you will have to do the wiring for extended service.
- Difficulties in remote work: as said earlier, the communication will be limited to office space. So the employees will not have a work from home option because they can’t get updated with the happenings in business communication of the particular day.
- Maintenance risks: when a hardware communication fails or meets with faulty lines, the entire communication system will break down. This will eventually create loss of time for your official proceedings.
Benefits of choosing Cloud telephony service
The first and foremost benefits lies in ease of use. Cloud telephony service providers in India are keen to facilitate a seamless flow of communication for your business. Some of the benefits to look out for are:
- Reduce Customer Wait Times: Customers don’t like to wait in line for service anymore. With the help of the automated IVR system you can easily handle initial queries, instantly routing the call. This results in improvement of service quality by using a good cloud telephony service provider.
- Improve First-Call Resolution (FCR): Customers expect to solve their problems quickly. Intelligent IVR routing and self-service ensures the customer connects to the right agent, leading to average handle time and faster resolution of issues with our cloud telephony service provider.
- Boost Call Center Efficiency: By automating routine tasks and simple queries, the cloud telephony platform reduces the workload of employees thereby allowing them to focus on more productive tasks that will enhance their efficiency.
- Enable 24/7 Self-Service Support: Customers can get access to essential information and complete their queries any time of day, which ensures 24/7 customer support automation from the cloud telephony solution platform and superior convenience to the customers.
- Handle High Call Volumes Smoothly: During peak hours or festive times, your customers will not have to wait for the call to be answered. The scalable hosted telephony platform of the service provider can effortlessly manage such high call volume handling, which ensures every customer call is answered professionally without interruption of service.
- Build a Professional Business Image: A well-designed IVR for business presents a polished, competent professional business image in front of every caller. Our reliable and accurate interaction automation makes your system highly organized. This helps to increase customer confidence in your brand.
- Multiple Department Routing: The multi-level IVR menu ensures that the customers are quickly directed to the right department according to the need of service he or she puts forward. This helps to reduce multiple transfers which might cause irritation and frustration to the customer. For example, if the customer is in need of a sales department he or she is directed to them rather than the need to interact with other departments.
- Better Lead Management and Tracking: The IVR system analyzes the query and urgency of the situation and then routes the call to the sales representative with the highest chance for conversion. The lead management system thus ensures no lead is missing thereby boosting conversion rates with a good IVR service provider.
- Quick Setup: By opting us as your IVR service provider, we ensure a quick setup of IVR because the SaaS-based IVR system is entirely cloud-based. This reduces the need for complex hardware. This ensures you both time efficiency and cost effective solution.
Cloud telephony v/s PBX system: Cost comparison
Basically the pricing range for Cloud telephony service is much lesser than traditional PBX systems.
- Traditional PBX Costs: You will have to spend the money for the hardware, the license, the physical installation, and the wages of an IT person to keep it running.
- Cloud Telephony Pricing: There is no need for complex hardware. You can easily pay a predictable monthly fee. All software updates and security checks are handled by the service according to the plan you choose. This can result in higher investments in your business for thriving rather than spending on age old systems.
Choosing the right service provider
With the necessary requirements checklist in mind, you need to select the right service provider who fits all your business requirements. Bonvoice is a cloud telephony service provider who ticks all the boxes in your checklist. But at the same time you need to ensure the service whichever solutions provider you select provides:
- Reliability
- Pricing
- Scalability
- Customer support
Why Businesses Choose Bonvoice
Bonvoice provides a scalable cloud telephony platform which is aptly designed for modern enterprise communication. With features ranging from IVR capabilities to enterprise-grade reliability, Bonvoice ensures your business communication is always seamless.
How to Migrate from a Traditional PBX System to Cloud Telephony Service
Every business has their own specific requirements. So while choosing a cloud telephony service provider you need to focus on a few steps beforehand.
- Needs assessment
Every start up business owner or a person who is new to the field makes the mistake of choosing the cheapest per-user price or a list of features that boasts many. They fail to understand how the communication process works in their workplace. They focus on the basic general features and forget to analyse their specific needs. For example: if a small business uses a traditional phone system they really need to analyse the customer churn and adapt a cloud telephony system to never miss a call. The lack of oversight is also a key mistake. The plan you choose according to your current needs might not be suitable when you have to upscale. So, before you select the best phone system for small business, you must define your Communication structure by mapping out every user and call flow. You need to:
- Map the user types: what communication system does your team rely on? What features do they need additionally?
- Future proofing: choose a system that is easily scalable according to your expansion or growth necessities.
2.Underestimating Network and Hardware Requirements
A cloud telephony system heavily relies on your internet connection. Thinking that your current internet facility is adequate to fulfill the needs of this service might become the biggest cause for poor call quality as it requires a consistent bandwidth to ensure good clarity in calls otherwise the sounds might feel choppy or disturbed.
To ensure clear voice clarity:
- Run a dedicated test to measure the key metrics that destroy voice quality like latency and jitter.
- Infrastructure also needs to be upgraded.
3.Number porting process
The transfer of your main business phone service for a small business number is a highly regulated process. Mismanaging the porting numbers phase is the number one reason for unexpected downtime. If you shift your office to some other place also you don’t have to worry about telecom providers or a number change. Because a toll free number is actually tied to your business and not to any specific toll free number service provider. This helps to establish trustworthiness and reduces operational difficulties.
4. Neglecting User Training and Change Management
Even the best office phone systems for small businesses will fail if the team using it is not properly trained. The technical transition is only a part of the process; success lies in how the team adapts to it. Each and every staff in the office need specific training according to their job roles rather than giving general awareness. You need to:
- Appoint at least one person from each team to deeply study the new cloud based system.
- Ensure your staff knows how to manage the auto attendant phone system and call queues, while sales learns to use the mobile softphone effectively, thereby ensuring their role based knowledge.
Conclusion
Your business growth strategy should keep up with the changing times. By adopting Bonvoice cloud telephony services you ensure that your business is on the right way to success. By opting for our services you can easily make a cost effective decision and reduce the workload of employees thereby increasing their productivity for the long run.
Explore our product page for in depth details and choose your right path to business growth.
Frequently asked questions
1. What is the difference between a cloud telephony service and a traditional PBX system?
A traditional PBX is an on-premise hardware-based system that routes calls through landlines whereas cloud telephony works entirely over the cloud or internet.
2. Why are businesses switching from traditional landlines to cloud telephony?
Businesses shift because cloud telephony offers better benefits for their business at a low cost than traditional PBX.
3. Are cloud telephony services cheaper than PBX systems?
Yes. Cloud telephony services are typically cheaper than PBX systems as they use a subscription model of payment.
4. Do cloud telephony solutions support IVR systems?
Yes. Most cloud telephony solutions include IVR features in their basic set of services.
5. How can businesses choose the right cloud telephony service provider?
Businesses should evaluate their specific business requirements and customer support provided by the cloud telephony service provider.
Footnotes:
“What Is Cloud Computing?” McKinsey & Company, 28 Aug. 2024, www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-cloud-computing.
Prompts used:
- What is cloud telephony?
- Differences between Cloud telephony and traditional PBX.