The Ultimate Guide for Moving Your PBX to VoIP

“We want to do things slowly, with a bunch of tech issues, taking hours to answer customer calls or solve their basic problems.”



…said no business, ever.



When customers put their trust and money towards your business, they expect the exact opposite of that. And that’s what great companies — small businesses and enterprises alike — strive to give them.



But the way those businesses work today — often combining in-office work with remote and hybrid approaches — really challenges the business communication side of things.



How can you ensure your communication, internally and with customers, still runs smoothly and solves issues efficiently?



With a conventional PBX phone system, you can’t. But with a  cloud-based PBX , the sky’s the limit because you can shape it to exactly what your business and working style needs.



If you’re thinking about replacing your PBX with a VoIP phone system, this guide is for you.



Why Businesses Replace PBX Systems



Private branch exchange ( PBX ) operates on a company’s internal telephone network. It’s powerful. It handles calls to and from the outside world and provides features such as customized greetings and call routing.



Setting up a traditional PBX using POTS


But, the PBX setup has significant limitations. The more fast-moving, flexible, modern business you are, the bigger the barrier a traditional PBX becomes.



Here’s what makes your on-premises phone system a hassle:




High setup cost:  Equipment, installation, and space, such as a server room, are quite an expense. PBX setup costs around $1,000 for each user, plus hardware costs.



Maintenance challenges:  You need an on-call or in-house IT expert for any troubleshooting. Ongoing costs of a PBX system can be up to $100 per month for each user.



Limited scalability, flexibility, and upgrade options:  Each new user requires adding a new physical phone line, and opening new locations or offices is a big, costly endeavor.



Dependence on physical infrastructure:  Many changes you want to make to your PBX phone system require the presence of an expert, as well as potential downtime.



Lack of integration with modern business tools:  Want to integrate with a CRM, a webinar tool, or a team chat app? Tough luck.




The better way? A  unified communications  approach that can do it all — business phone, email, video, and collaboration in one place and on any device.









Advantages of Choosing a VoIP Phone Service



Going the cloud-based route makes everything about your business phone system better, including:



Scalability and flexibility



Do your business needs for phone lines change with time? Think: adding new phone lines for new employees, expanding your call center capacity during holidays and reducing it after, or opening new temporary or permanent locations and offices.



With cloud PBX, you don’t need additional physical infrastructure, new copper wires, or a consultant on your location. All it takes is a tweak in your phone system admin dashboard so you can scale your phone system in hours, not weeks.



Cost savings



Upfront costs of hosted PBX are low to none because the only hardware you need is an internet router and internet-connected devices such as laptops and smartphones, not huge server rooms or analog phones. Using IP phones with your system can be great, but it’s optional.



Additionally, you’re paying a stable, predictable monthly subscription, which can be as low as $25 per month per user, and your VoIP provider handles any maintenance required. It’s hands-off and cost-effective.


















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Advanced features and integrations



You might have been happy with basic phone calls so far, but VoIP supercharges them with calling features such as voicemail-to-email, auto attendant, call recording, advanced call management, routing, and so much more. There’s also a bonus of additional channels such as video conferencing and SMS messaging.



It also lets you  integrate  your telephony with powerful tools you already use, like a helpdesk platform, a CRM tool, or a collaboration platform. Instead of jumping from one tool to another to log customer conversations, everything happens automatically.






Mobility and remote work



Do you have employees who work from home or travel regularly? VoIP lets anyone in your business access your phone system wherever they have an internet connection.



This is thanks to a  softphone : a mobile app that allows you to make and receive calls from your business phone number.



This way, you can keep talking to customers or collaborating internally without a moment of friction.



Reliability and uptime



Cloud-based telephony is secure and reliable. For example, Nextiva’s  network  relies on multiple carrier-grade data centers — if there’s an issue with one of them, others are there so your phone system can keep working smoothly regardless.



Nextiva has eight redundant Nextiva data centers across North America


Call encryption, the highest security standards, and round-the-clock monitoring are what ensure a 99.999% uptime. With VoIP, you’ll never miss a beat with your customers.



The Ultimate PBX Migration Checklist



A successful PBX replacement plan is made of four stages:




Stage 1: Pre-migration planning



Stage 2: Technical preparations



Stage 3: Migration



Stage 4: Post-migration




We’re covering every step you need to take in each stage to smoothly transition from your PBX phone system to a cloud-based Voice over IP system.



Stage 1. Pre-migration phone system planning



In the planning stage, there are three essential tasks for you to complete. You might already have a head start on upgrading your company’s telecom system.