In the growing industry of global telecommunications, small, medium and large business enterprises need a competitive edge to become successful. Traditional PSTN systems will soon be replaced by Virtual PBX phone systems as more and more companies are rapidly embracing Virtual PBX business phone systems as an economical alternative to expensive enterprise class office phone systems.

How Does Virtual PBX Work?

Most Virtual PBX systems use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to transfer calls. There are still some systems which rely on traditional T1, T3, SIP or MPLS to relay their signals within a regional dialing area. But, for the most part, as VoIP has dramatically improved over the last decade, most "hard wired" systems are transitioning to Internet protocol.

On the transmitting side, codec is used to convert analog audio into digital data packets which is then transmitted over a high speed protocol, such as the Internet. At the receiving side these digital data packets are again converted back into audio speech signals.

Since a single line is used to transmit voice and data, it makes this system more efficient than the traditional premise based PBX systems. In traditional PSTN, there is a dedicated line between two callers which cannot be used for any other calls as long as the call is connected. But in a Virtual PBX system, the same line can be used to transfer more data during pauses between speeches to optimize efficiency.

A Virtual PBX and Office system offers more benefits than the traditional hardware based telecommunication systems at competitive prices. All the data, hardware and software are maintained by the service provider, relieving businesses from the hassles of buying, installing, monitoring and upgrading the costly equipment, and hiring staff to maintain it.

There are a number of calling features that usually come as standard with the Virtual PBX systems which are generally not available with the traditional PSTN like call conferencing, call forwarding, 3 way calling, speed dial, dial by extension, dial by name, find me, follow me, Caller ID, regular fax, virtual fax, fax on demand and Internet.

Exceptional Call Handling Features

There are a lot of advanced calling features to keep an eye out for like:

• Auto Attendant: This gives your business a professional image by routing calls to the correct destination.

• Multiple user connectivity: You can connect any number of offices, branches and international extensions as one unit and transfer calls practically anywhere in the world.

• Remote employee support: For business enterprises having many mobile employees it gives a collaborative platform to enable workers to connect from anywhere in real time, to greatly enhance productivity.

• Virtual offices: You can set up a virtual business presence wherever you go and sound large to clients to get more prospects. Wherever you go, your telecommunication features and services go with you.

• Toll free numbers: Many IP based PBX providers allow you to have toll-free numbers and/or local phone numbers with anywhere connectivity.

• Voicemail Transcription: This feature converts your voice messages to text formats like pdfs or docs in client specific formats.

• Automated Teleseminars: This function allows you to record your training seminars for your staff to listen to at a later time and date. If they weren't able to attend the first time, now they can listen to it at a more convenient time.

The security of calls and data is a significant factor that greatly affects the decision while making the choice for a reliable Virtual PBX provider. Many service providers use meticulous and updated data security measures to safeguard customer data and user identities. Use of latest firewalls and anti-virus software prevents the data from being attacked by hackers and intrusions. Regular monitoring and updating of data, multiple backups in different locations ensure that all your data is safely secured.

The customized monthly packages, extendable connections, the ease of scalability and customization – all this and more is offered by the Virtual PBX providers which has the potential to meet the ever changing needs of any business enterprise. Companies save thousands of dollars on business communication by switching to Virtual PBX systems. No matter where you go, your services go with you so that you never miss out on a potential business opportunity.

Virtual PBX is a innovative tool for many savvy enterprises and is certainly the future face of business telecommunication. Every day more and more business enterprises are discovering the benefits of Virtual PBX systems and totally embracing this telecommunication tool as the ideal solution to optimize productivity remarkably by improving their business communications.