PBX is short for Private Branch Exchange, in German: a telephone system. The term is almost as old as telephony itself. In the meantime, there are extensions in digital areas, especially for companies. In this article we explain the difference between a telephone system and a single telephony device and show you the advantages and functions of a telephone system.
Telephone system vs. telephone
The most obvious difference is in the number of terminals. With a telephone system, companies can connect a large number of devices to the public telephone network at the same time. There is also the option of making internal calls or setting up call diversions. Instant messaging or mobile devices can now also be integrated into a PBX. Another function that many are familiar with is the extension number, which directs you to the contact person you want within a company. A telephone system can either be installed locally on in-house servers or hosted online via the cloud. Both solutions have advantages and disadvantages. With the help of the local server, users have a high degree of control, but they also have to expect maintenance costs.These costs are not covered by the cloud, but insufficient bandwidth can lead to network-related problems.
Benefits of a PBX
A PBX gives you the option of transferring the authority of the individual departments in your company to the telephone. We have listed these setting options in the following table:
| description | Authority |
| not entitled to office | external network participants cannot be contacted |
| semi-official | only external numbers may be called |
| locally authorized | Calls within the same local area network |
| cross-connection authorized | Telephone calls to predefined partners |
| fully authorized | no restriction |
| description | Authority |
| not entitled to office | external network participants cannot be contacted |
| semi-official | only external numbers may be called |
| locally authorized | Calls within the same local area network |
| cross-connection authorized | Telephone calls to predefined partners |
| vollamtsberechtigt | keine Einschränkung |
IP-PBX - the future?
So-called IP telephone systems use the software-based Internet protocol (IP for short). The individual end devices are no longer physically connected to one another. A practical solution, because in addition to conventional telephones (hardphones), software on the computer (softphones) can also be used. This enables, for example, continuous accessibility with the same extension number even when on the move..
