Home PBX Phone Systems; a Strong Choice for Businesses

There are many kinds of business phone systems that are being used today. There are those that allow employers to have full control over the company’s phone system, effectively preventing employees from making any inappropriate calls while at work. Then there’s one that allows different companies, who otherwise co-exist within the same building, to communicate with each other as needed. However, one more commonly used in this day and age is the home PBX phone system, with PBX being defined as “Private Branch Exchange”. Unlike most other phone systems, the home PBX phone system is more appropriate for private companies or individuals seeking to communicate with one another.

Definition
The Home PBX Phone System differs from other business phone system thanks to its autonomous systems that allow an employee to take manual control of whom he or she can call and be called by. PBX is also compatible with various devices like fax machines and modems, allowing them to be very useful in relaying information throughout a company.
Other names for the PBX include:
• PABX-“Private Automatic Branch Exchange”
• EPABX-“Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange”
• CBX-“Computerized Branch Exchange” (This being one of the steadily growing methods as it allows access for the internet and any device associated with the internet.)

History
Now, let’s take a look back on where the Home PBX Phone System actually got its start.
It all began with the earlier versions of phone systems, the ones that involved switchboards; a lot of switching, and of course, the tired men and women who did all the switching. Nevertheless, things began to change when people began to use electronic and electromechanical means of controlling the business phone systems, making them semi or fully automatic and finally giving the operators a good and well-deserved break from all that switching.

At the time, of course, most business phones still relied on the “key system”: the kind of phone system that allows employers full control of the system and can effectively block any inappropriate calls. As technology rolled on and the demand for talented individuals who can work for a company grew steadily, PBX then grew in popularity as employers and employees could now make calls beyond the system when necessary. This has allowed various small businesses to flourish as well as larger companies seek them out for their services.

Components, Capabilities and Functions
Here are some primary components of the Home PBX Phone System:
• A console that can facilitate incoming or outgoing calls
• A microcomputer to automatically manage calls
• Various stations and their respective wiring
Also, the PBX is gradually replacing the other forms of phone systems in the world of business. This is because it allows for so many individual businesses to take advantage of its features and capabilities. Here are just some of its capabilities that one can note:
• Establishing and maintaining a circuit between two callers such as two companies that have a mutual interest
• Disconnecting unnecessary or inappropriate lines between two callers (think of employees trying to take advantage of the open communication)
• Giving a good idea regarding accounting issues
And then there are its numerous other functions:
• A Welcome Note for those who will use it
• An Auto Attendant to take care of callers who may be new to the system and its functions
• Auto Dialing to save your fingers the trouble of dialing and memorizing a given number for the call
• A Find Me function to trace back calls and callers
• Voice Mail for leaving messages
• Call Blocking to discourage inappropriate calls
• Do Not Disturb when you need to engage in other business and need can’t be bothered with anything else for the time being

PBX Hosts
The home PBX phone system continues to grow in popularity because of its compatibility with the internet. This means that it renders most other business phone system stations obsolete; people can just use their phones and computers to communicate with one another. As a matter of fact, PBX can be divided into two hosts that provide different services for a specific device.

Mobile PBX allows the phone system to access mobile phones that employees are using, allowing their respective employees to call them when needed. This also works similar to how a wireless phone system would work, allowing employees to still communicate with their superiors and peers whilst on the move. This is by far the most efficient of the PBX hosts as mobile phones are probably the most numerous devices in a given company.
IP PBX is associated with computers and how computers can be made into a part of the phone system of a company. This means that an employer can then proceed to make calls through an employee’s computer instead of using the more traditional stations or telephones — found in older forms of phone systems.