A modern business needs to have unified communications. And a smart way to have unified communications is to get a hosted PBX (private branch exchange). But what is unified communications? And what is a hosted PBX? And how does one influence the other?
Unified Communications
Unified communications (UC) is not a single piece of technology. Rather, it’s a group of technologies that can all work together. What you get is a consistent user interface that works on multiple devices, platforms, and media channels.
What does this mean? With UC, your iPhone-using remote worker in Trois-Rivières should be able to send and receive messages with a messaging app, respond to a request for documents by uploading them via phone, and then set up a meeting on the team’s integrated calendar. Meanwhile, your team lead in Vancouver, who alternates between an Android and a laptop, should be able to see your Trois-Rivières worker’s presence, edit the document they just sent, and respond to the meeting request using a UI that looks basically the same even though they’re using different devices.
Essentially, UC can include all forms of technological communication you can think of. Calls? Instant messaging? Multimodal communications? The ability to see online presence (i.e., when you’re available, busy, invisible, do not disturb, etc.)? Screen sharing? Shared document editing? One-click meeting? Video, audio, and web conferencing? Team whiteboarding? UC can and should encompass all of these.
Take all these ways of collaborating and give them a user interface that looks the same across all devices; then let people use the devices they want and communicate in the ways that best fit their purposes. That’s unified communications.
Hosted PBX
A hosted PBX, also called virtual PBX, is when your phone service provider hosts your phone service on their end. As opposed to an on-premise phone system, where you have all the equipment, copper wire, data centre, and actual phones at your office. This implies having the expertise to set it all up, reconfigure when necessary, and keep up with the maintenance.
With a hosted PBX, you essentially outsource all that stuff to your phone company and pay them for the service. They configure your system remotely. The equipment lives at their end. If you need to add more seats, even if it’s hundreds at a time spread over the entire country, the phone company can provide that scalability very easily.
And scalability is just one advantage of a hosted PBX. A hosted PBX saves money by cutting down on installation and maintenance fees. It offers the ability to have a phone system reach employees across the country and beyond. It offers excellent resilience and disaster recovery since everything is virtual. And those are just a few of the benefits of a hosted PBX.
When Unified Communications Meets a Hosted PBX
There’s no reason to have unified communications on anything other than a hosted PBX. A hosted PBX means that your employees and their phones, computers, and tablets can be anywhere. They aren’t limited to a central facility, bound by physical wire. A hosted PBX also means that it’s easier to get various devices to talk to one another. People have preferences when it comes to their devices, and unified communications lets them use what they want, when they want. A hosted PBX means that there aren’t physical challenges connecting disparate devices. Anything connects to anything. Finally, both unified communications and a hosted PBX are about low-maintenance solutions to modern communication. You shouldn’t have to fight to make devices and apps work together. Communication should be easy, and with unified communications on a hosted PBX solution, it is.
