by Hossam Amin

Since the introduction of IP PBX solutions to the market, slowly replacing existing traditional PBX systems, many managerial tasks have become simpler. For example, the task of changing a user’s extension has never been easier. In fact, all that is involved is the simple modification of the extension assigned to the user’s telephone from the web interface of the IP PBX. The underlying technology that permits such ease, now a standard feature in modern IP PBX solutions, is called provisioning. Every time a user’s telephone reboots, in an IP PBX environment, it gets provisioned with all of its settings, including its extension number. Since these settings are immediately configurable from the IP PBX web interface, they can always be kept up to date.

Not only do small and medium-sized enterprises find IP PBX solutions very handy, but so do call centres. In addition to call forking and call hunting, which most call centres cannot do without, an IP PBX offers enhanced call-recording options. Not only can users dial a special prefix before a destination number to record a conversation, they can also control their call-recording options from the web interface of the IP PBX. Moreover, IP PBX users can have recorded conversations sent to their email boxes for later review.

Thanks to the ease of acquiring real-time data in a Voice over IP (VoIP) network, IP PBX solutions are able to offer Busy Lamp Field (BLF) technology. For companies, particularly those that employ a receptionist who redirects incoming calls to employees, the BLF technology of an IP PBX can be very useful. With the information available from the BLF fields, the IP PBX provides the receptionist, before having to transfer any incoming calls, with a complete view of all the company staff and the real-time status of each of their telephones. By knowing whether a telephone is busy or idle, the receptionist can decide whether or not to transfer incoming calls to it.

To add to the growing list of features, IP PBX developers have incorporated call conferencing in their solutions. By means of an intuitive graphical user interface, a conference bridge in an IP PBX facilitates simple management and monitoring of call conferencing. In addition, because an IP PBX uses VoIP technology, conference calls held between users located at different corporate sites can ultimately incur no long-distance charges.

There is no doubt that the list of features in modern IP PBX solutions keeps growing. IP PBX providers have continued to expose the richness of IP PBX technology by expanding their imaginations in their products. It can be safely said that we are still far from reaching maturity level in the IP PBX industry and only time can prove us right.

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