Become an IP PBX Reseller

This guide tries to help you understand what exactly IP PBX is and what you need to start a successful IP PBX business.

FIRST COMES FIRST: WHAT EXACTLY IS IP PBX?

Years ago, before the existence of PBX, if a worker wanted to talk to another worker in the same office, the full price of the call was charged; Obviously, this was a huge waste of money for most companies, which is why the PBX was invented.

It wasn’t always IP PBX … years ago, before the Internet was used as much as it is today, it was plain and simple: PBX.

PBX

In 1970 the switchboard began to be used. The switchboard was a hardware-based system and was first connected manually; this is what we call “manual call switching”.

This is how it worked:

• When someone called the business phone system, the call went to the main switchboard.

• The caller had the option of choosing who or what department they wanted to be connected to.

• Once he decided where to connect, a receptionist had to manually connect the PBX server to the phone of the person or department he wanted to call.

• Once the call was finished, it had to be disconnected

Obviously, this had many disadvantages. First, companies needed to pay someone to connect and disconnect all those cables. Second, the amount of cables running must have caused a real mess. On top of that, these systems were really expensive, so only very large companies could afford to have one.

That’s why a change was needed …

It wasn’t long before a system was invented to connect those cables automatically.

Now there were two types of systems:

• ‘private automated branch exchange ‘ (PABX) – which was the system that connected the cables automatically, and was used by large and rich companies

• ‘private manual exchange of branches‘(PMBX): the system in which the cables had to be connected manually, which were used by the usual companies

Slowly but surely, PMBX disappeared from the market, and it was only PABX that later became PBX, short for ‘private branch exchange’.

When VoIP started to catch on in the 1990s, PBXs started to evolve into IP PBX (Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange) as businesses found this to be an easy way to save money. Calls over the Internet are charged at a fraction of the price of regular calls.

Over the years, IP PBX has improved dramatically with more features being added all the time.

NOW THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT IP PBX IS, LET’S SEE HOW IT WORKS …

IP PBX is basically a telephone network within a company that allows free calls between different users (internal calls). It is also possible to make calls outside the network (external calls), but they will probably not be free. IP PBX calls are made over VoIP, so although external calls are charged, they will still be much cheaper than normal phone calls.

IP PBX offers many functions such as call queue, call transfer, voicemail, call recording, voice menus, etc. in addition to regular calls.

For a company to configure an IP PBX system, it will need an IP PBX server, one or more IPs or softphones, and an optional gateway (for external calls).

The IP or softphones must be registered with the server so that the server has some kind of list of all the users connected to it.

When a company worker wants to call another worker, this is what will happen:

• The person who wants to make the call will ‘ask’ the server to establish a connection

• The server has a list of all users and phones and their IP addresses, using these IP addresses internal calls are made

• For external calls, the server will use a gateway or a VoIP provider.

• Users can dial into the system anywhere they have Internet access. This means that it is not necessary for everyone to work from the same office; they can work from home or in different offices.

The IP PBX also handles incoming calls and can easily direct callers to the person or department they want to call.

• The system can be connected to one or more phone numbers

• Businesses can choose to have a personalized greeting that callers will hear when they call. If there are multiple phone numbers, there may be separate greetings for each number. Businesses can choose to have a personalized greeting triggered only outside of business hours.

• Businesses can choose to have a personalized menu where callers can choose which person or department they want to call. Businesses can also choose to have their receptionist answer calls and direct callers to the appropriate person / department.

• Companies can choose to record a message for when a person from the company or department is not available.

• The IP PBX system will ensure that the call connection is stable for the duration of the call and that the connection is closed when the call ends.

• There are additional functions such as call queue, hold, call transfer, etc. that some providers will offer. Businesses can also choose to play music or personalized announcements while callers wait to be connected.

ADVANTAGES OF IP PBX FOR BUSINESSES

• IP PBX makes internal calls easier, more efficient and free. This contributes to the smooth running of a business.

• If there is an automatic menu then money is saved because there is no receptionist answering

• Workers can log into the system even if they are not in the office. This means that workers can easily work from home and stay connected. Workers can also work from different offices and be connected to the same telephone network. It’s easy to add or remove phones from the system, as there are no cables involved. This means that as the business grows, the system can grow with it.

In addition to the benefits for the company itself, there are also benefits for the company’s customers.

• Only one number is needed for customers to call anyone in the company

• When the call menu is automatic, time is saved as it is faster than when a receptionist has to answer and direct the call and they are less likely to connect to the wrong person.

These also benefit the businesses themselves, as customers are more likely to deal with businesses that have good phone systems than those that don’t.

A NEW REVOLUTION: HOSTED IP PBX

Hosted means that there is no physical IP PBX system in the office. Everything is in the cloud. The companies will basically rent the system from their provider. The system will be in the provider’s office and all the needs of the company to be able to connect is an Internet connection.

More and more companies these days are turning to hosted systems instead of their own because they offer many benefits, including:

• no initial fee

• no installation costs

• when software is updated, companies with hosted IP PBX can simply download the update

The downside to hosting is that there isn’t as much customization compared to proprietary systems.

When it comes to choosing between hosted or proprietary IP PBX systems, small or medium-sized businesses with up to 300 users are recommended to use hosted systems, while larger businesses are better off with their own system.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO START OFFERING IP PBX TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

You will need IP PBX software to start offering these services to your customers. It is basically a softswitch with an IP PBX module. You can buy or rent one. If you are just starting out, it might be better to rent as it is much cheaper. If you are already offering VoIP services and are just adding IP PBX, you can use the same software switch, but you will need to get the IP PBX module.

Before you can decide what you will need to start offering IP PBX services, you must decide what type of customers you will be targeting. If you want to offer your services to small and medium-sized businesses, it is best to offer hosted services. If you want to serve larger businesses, offer regular IP PBX. If you are already offering VoIP services to your customers, decide what your customers would prefer and offer it.

WHAT YOUR IP PBX CUSTOMERS WILL EXPECT OF YOU

When you start offering IP PBX systems to your customers, there is something they will expect from you:

• As with all VoIP systems, there is a privacy and security issue. Your clients will want to make sure that the phone numbers of their clients, suppliers, etc. are you sure. That is why you will have to prove to them that you are trustworthy and that you will never give their information to third parties.

• They will expect good quality at a low price.

• They want their system to save them time and money

• It should be easy to configure.

• They may want additional features like voicemail, call forwarding, queue, hold, smartphone and tablet options, etc.

• They will also want excellent customer service in case something goes wrong.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO TALK TO YOUR CUSTOMERS BEFORE STARTING WITH IP PBX …

When offering IP PBX services to your customers, you will need to help them decide on a couple of points to help them get the most out of your system:

• What times of the day will the phone system operate? What will happen when I am outside of business hours? Will there be a personalized message?

• When will the voicemail appear? Only when after hours? Or when an extension is busy?

• When multiple calls come in at the same time, how should the server handle them?

• Some IP PBX providers will offer a feature that allows businesses to see what number callers are calling. This is useful for companies that have multiple phone numbers connected to the same server and want to know what number the caller used to make that call.

• Before the IP PBX can be used, a directory must be created with all the telephones that will connect to it.

Because the IP PBX market is growing so fast, there are endless opportunities to offer IP PBX. Whether you want to cater to large, medium or small businesses, if done right it can turn into a very lucrative business.