Call Center PBX
If you’re after a flexible, user-friendly call center solution for your small business, look no further than Vonage Business Communications. Easily customizable features let you use it as a call center PBX phone system.
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What Is PBX in a Call Center?
PBX is one of multiple phrases that can be used to describe call management systems, which help handle all incoming and outgoing calls to and from a business’ call center.
Surprisingly, there is no PBX call center definition that accurately covers both legacy PBX and modern virtual PBX systems. That’s because the term “PBX,” or Public Branch Exchange, has evolved with the technology it represents.
Traditional PBX solutions were on-premises, meaning all the hardware needed to run the call center properly was stored on the company’s site. Legacy PBX also worked using landlines, which each had to be connected to the telephone network manually.
The modern alternative is a hosted IP PBX call center. The “hosted” part of the name refers to the fact that the solution itself exists in the cloud, and is accessed via the internet instead of through physical hardware. This makes scaling much easier and faster, while ensuring that office and call center spaces stay free of space-inefficient hardware.
Call Center PBX Features and a Whole Lot More
When you’re considering which call center virtual PBX solution to choose, it’s important to know exactly what you’re getting. Take a look at some of the robust features and add-ons that users of Vonage Business Communications can enjoy.
Virtual Receptionist
A virtual PBX call center needs a virtual receptionist. On top of helping manage agents’ workloads, these digital helpers ensure each caller is routed to the right person, saving time and optimizing the customer experience.
Call Queue
Even the most well-staffed call centers can get overwhelmed. This is where call queueing comes in; it’s perfect for organizing queues and minimizing the chances of callers giving up when lines are busy. With a solution like Vonage, your call queue management can be fully automated.
Call Groups
Some calls are perfect for anyone in a specific team to handle. With call groups, you can send incoming calls to multiple people and have it ring all their lines at once, so the first available agent can answer. This saves time and opens up opportunities to entire teams.
Call Monitoring
One of the most popular call center PBX features for managers, call monitoring lets supervisors keep an eye on multiple ongoing conversations at once. This means agents get support, managers provide expertise, and customers get top-level service — all with the help of this user-friendly feature.
Company Call Recording
Listen back to any past phone conversation with company call recording. This feature empowers agents to keep track of all the calls they take, without asking them to memorize them. It’s also invaluable for training new agents using real-life examples, as well as maintaining legal compliance.
CRM and Business App Integrations
Your call center solution should be all-inclusive, so it becomes a true virtual hub for work. That’s possible thanks to CRM and business app integrations, which transform a simple tool into a multi-purpose workplace essential.
Business SMS and MMS
The best call center PBX solutions let agents use multiple channels for communicating with customers, including text-based options. Business SMS and MMS as an integrated feature helps agents stay connected with both customers and others within their company, boosting teamwork and customer service alike.
Visual Voicemail
Being able to receive messages even when you’re unavailable boosts flexibility, while helping show callers that you want to support them no matter what. Visual voicemail lets you turn incoming voicemails into text, making responding to them even easier.
Business Mobile App
Agents need to be able to take calls and work on the go. This is where our mobile app shines — agents can easily stay connected and productive, no matter where they are or what they’re doing. That’s also great news for remote and hybrid workers.
VBC is the world's most flexible cloud communications application
Security and compliance
Secure communications that meet your industry’s regulatory requirements. See VBC Security & Reliability
What Sets VBC Apart From Other Call Center PBX Systems?
VBC is much more than an average virtual call center. In addition to the features we’ve already covered, it comes with many extra advantages for its users — and here are some of the best ones.
Ease of Set Up and Use
It’s easy to think of call center technology as something complicated, difficult to use, or inaccessible. However, Vonage Business Communications is none of these things.
To get started with Vonage, the only thing you need to do is create an account. You’ll then be able to access any Vonage products you’ve signed up for. The Admin Portal allows your company’s administrator to fully customize what features every user has access to.
Next, you’ll want to choose how you’re most comfortable using VBC. The solution is fully usable in any browser of your choice, though we recommend downloading the app for either your desktop or mobile devices as well. This helps maximize your flexibility and is designed to be easy to navigate.
The solution itself is designed to get you off the ground straight away, with an intuitive UI and a comprehensive support base available. Created with user needs in mind, you can access all functionalities easily and get started as soon as possible.
Say goodbye to spending a whole day on product setup with Vonage.
Flexibility and Scalability
We’ve already touched on the fact that modern PBX solutions are far more scalable than their legacy counterparts. VBC takes that a step further, introducing top-tier flexibility and scalability into our PBX phone system.
You can customize VBC to your needs with a few simple clicks.
For example, you can simply add Salesforce to your VBC platform in the form of an integration. VBC also lets you simplify workforce management workflows with our integrated WFM feature, so you can cater to the needs of your workers and managers alike.
At the same time, if you need no more than a simple and robust PBX system, that’s no problem either. Simply use VBC as it is, and you’ll have all the features you need to succeed.
As mentioned, VBC is incredibly scalable. To add new agents, you don’t need to install hardware or phone an expert — all you have to do is create an account for them, and that’s it. So, whenever you need to scale, your PBX solution will keep up with you perfectly every time.
Suitability for Hybrid and Remote Working
An excellent virtual PBX call center solution needs to cater flexibly to in-office and hybrid workers just as much as remote ones. VBC does this with ease.
Whether you’re working from a familiar office-issued device, or on the road using a spare laptop, you can access and comfortably work using VBC. This is thanks to the seamless transitions between in-app and browser working, which can turn any device into a work device simply by using it to log in.
Remote workers can get set up in their home offices and easily connect with the rest of their team using VBC’s integrated communication channels, including SMS and voice calling. These promote teamwork and help keep managers in the loop regardless of physical proximity.
Plus, if hybrid agents forget their usual work laptop at home, they can come to the office and use any desktop or laptop available to stay productive. With everything stored in the cloud, it doesn’t matter which device you use — just the account you log on with. This saves time and ensures backup options are always available.
Truly Unified Solution
When all your communication channels are brought together onto a single platform, you get a unified communications solution. Add integrations with other business tools to this, and you end up with a fully unified solution that acts as your all-in-one virtual business platform.
That saves a lot of time and money for small businesses, which would otherwise have to invest in multiple separate solutions. Employees also save time, since they don’t need to switch between apps to complete daily workflows.
Customize VBC To Create a Holistic Call Center PBX Solution
By nature, VBC gives you everything you need to keep a virtual call center running smoothly alongside your internal communications. Between easy scalability and quick onboarding, you can bring new agents in and have them working with the team in no time at all.
VBC takes this one step further with customizability. This lets you craft the ideal call center solution for your company’s specific needs, so you can get everything you’re looking for in a single place.
In other words, VBC saves time, effort, and money, all while being tailored to you.
And the best part? It’s very easy to get started. All you have to do is create an account, or get in touch to learn more
Still Have Questions About Call Center PBX?
An older type of PBX call center system is usually going to be on-premises. This means the physical tech that keeps the system running is stored in your office, where you can see and touch it.
A cloud PBX call center, on the other hand, is a more modern solution. This works by having a provider take care of all the equipment for you, so you access your PBX system via the internet instead of using wires and switches.
If you’re looking for a flexible, scalable phone system, you’ll want to be sure to choose cloud or hosted PBX. These two terms are often used interchangeably, and both refer to a phone system hosted off-premises.
PBX systems can also be both feature-rich and more bare-bones. You can usually tell the difference based on which ones are branded as being “phone systems” versus “all-inclusive solutions” or similar.
The all-inclusive, unified communications, or omnichannel solutions are the ones that come with all the extra features you need to fully digitalize your call center. These let you do much more than just place and accept calls, instead becoming fully fledged virtual workspaces that can be accessed from anywhere.
Not all PBX call center solutions are designed for small businesses. Some might have large minimum numbers of users per plan, for example, which makes them a better fit for businesses with larger employee bodies.
However, there are plenty of call center PBX systems on the market created with small businesses in mind, including VBC. These provide all the features you need, with none of the extras that would only bog you down. In fact, VBC’s all-inclusive solution is a great choice for just about any small business because it combines all your communication needs into a single app.
If your small business places or takes any calls, especially ones from customers, you can benefit from choosing a call center PBX solution. VBC in particular can help you get exactly what you need without paying for seats that won’t be filled, or similar features designed for larger businesses.
In order to start taking advantage of your PBX call center’s features, be sure to customize where you can right from the start. This will help you set yourself up with features and add-ons that you know you’re interested in and want to use.
It’s also a great idea to offer training for staff. This helps them learn exactly how to use the features they need, which lets them use the PBX tool to its full capacity. It also discourages them from seeking out external solutions to do what your PBX solution can already do.
