Standard PBX
Weaknesses of Premise-based PBX Equipment
The biggest problems with standard PBX systems revolve around costs, flexibility and adaptability. Costs are problematic in two areas. First, the up-front cost for getting a system up and running can be very high. Industry averages show that the typical cost for a PBX system ranges from $500 to $2,000 per seat (user), including the cost of the equipment, installation, and wiring. At the lower end of the spectrum, the equipment offers limited features and usually limited scalability. Higher priced systems include advanced functionality, such as Automatic Call Distribution (ACD), skills-based call routing, and other sophisticated features. Many smaller businesses find that they can not afford the cost of a first PBX system and so continue to take calls on individual phone lines, without establishing a central business identity.
The second cost issue is ongoing maintenance and support. As PBX equipment continues to add functionality, there is an increasing need for highly trained support people to maintain the hardware and software, roll out system upgrades, and manage system use. Ongoing support and maintenance costs are predicted to run at about 1% of the cost of the equipment each month. For example, a $20,000 PBX switch, which would provide service to 10 to 40 employees, depending on system features, would typically cost about $200 per month for maintenance.
As with many devices based on hardware and software infrastructure, the other major problem with PBX equipment is flexibility. The biggest problem in this area is scalability. Most PBX hardware is limited in its ability to add both internal and external lines and to support more users. Low-end systems are especially difficult in this regard, often forcing small businesses to overbuy in order to have enough capacity for the business they hope one day to have, or to pay only for current needs, knowing that they may have to throw away their new equipment when the business grows. Recent industry surveys indicate that many small businesses buy a new PBX system every two years in order to accommodate business growth.
Flexibility is also an issue when it comes to features. While almost any feature can be bought, many times important features can not be added to an existing system, forcing businesses to pay for new systems in order to get needed features. In addition, features that can be added are often significantly more expensive as add-ons than when they are included in the original purchase.
Adaptability has become a more important problem as the business environment continues to evolve. PBX equipment was originally designed around the idea that users (employees) would be centrally located inside an office. Today's mobile environment has created problems with this model. Increasingly, business users want to receive calls on cellular phones when they travel, on alternate phones when they work in a different office, or on home telephones when they telecommute. As can be seen from basic PBX architecture, routing calls inside a pre-wired office is easy, but sending calls back out to a different phone is much more difficult. While forwarding a call back out to the telephone network can be done, the implementation is often clumsy and limited compared to the call forwarding and follow-me calling of alternatives, such as hosted PBX systems.
Many companies today want to have a completely distributed workforce in order to save office costs. The "virtual office" concept works for many companies, ranging from small businesses that are not ready or don't need to establish a central place of business to very large service organizations that employ telecommuters as a matter of course. It is difficult and expensive to make standard PBX equipment work for these environments.