If you’re using a PBX, we can officially say it’s dead. What’s a PBX? A private branch exchange is a facility based phone server. These products have been made by the following companies around the world
- NEC, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Panasonic, Toshiba (JP)
- AT&T, Lucent, Avaya, ShoreTel, Cisco (US)
- NorTel, Mitel (CA)
- Siemens, Ericcson, Alcatel (EU)
This by no means a complete list. However, the point to note is that most of the companies (or divisions of companies) making these products are either dead or dying. Avaya was the strong American brand and is going through it’s second bankruptcy proceedings. It’s clear that the PBX is officially dead.
If you’re running a PBX, you need to get off it and get into the cloud. Why?
- Eliminate telephone lines in your facilities and safe money!
- Get quicker updates, mobile apps, and new features once or twice a year (You never get that with a PBX onsite)
- If you pick a good CSP (Communications Service Provider) you have BCP built in! You’re building could burn to the ground but your team would be able to take care of your customers
At AINEO, we decided that installing PBX systems was selling the past. Like selling something when you know the big D word is coming DISCONTINUE. Who wants to buy something that has a questionable future?
If your business is still running a PBX onsite, it’s time to find a replacement. There are many options out there. Here’s are recommendations for choosing a VoIP service provider or CSP-
- Avoid phone services built on open source
- Buy directly from the service provider if possible in your market or at least a reseller that knows how to program the system for your business
- Check the service for the options- voice recording, SMS integration, conferencing bridges, multilingual support, analytics and statistics for planning/staffing
- Make sure the apps sync up- is what you do on your computer in sync with your mobile device?
- Avoid services built on AWS, Azure, or other shared server cloud services. They are just tenants and don’t have control of their own destiny or yours.
We hope those hints helped. AINEO announced in Dec 2022 that we will no longer be supporting on premise PBX systems from 2024. We’re excited to focus completely on CIRCLE Cloud Communications, Japan’s fastest growing (and best sounding) secure cloud-based phone system.
Ready to rid of that dead or dying PBX? Contact us here.