7 Excellent Ways DID-based IPPBX System Improves Remote Working Productivity

Work-from-home (WFH) and hybrid work models are here to stay, requiring companies to develop remote working strategies powered by information and communication technology and tools. Yet, heads of IT and network engineers agree that on-premises and legacy tools remain prominent in the existing business communication landscape. Despite the cost, complexity, and security issues of on-premises phone systems, businesses are hesitant to transition.

An IPPBX system that includes direct inward dialing and inbound services can be the answer to the puzzlement of businesses. DID services integrated with a cloud-based, hosted PBX system makes connecting remote and distributed teams much easier with its in-built web/app based calling functionality, eliminating the need for shipping and configuring hardware for each remote employee.

A study states that 16% of companies worldwide are fully-remote. The same study has found that around 62% of employees claim to work remotely at least occasionally, and more say they would be interested in doing it. It necessitates businesses to upgrade their legacy communication system with a state-of-the-art IPPBX system. Besides, DID number providers can help you multiply the benefits of your IPPBX system with virtual numbers, enabling flexible, scalable, and cost-effective workstations.

Let’s understand the functioning of PBX systems, how DID-based IPPBX system is more beneficial, and some excellent ways it can boost remote work productivity.

What is a PBX System?

PBX (Private Branch Exchange) system is a private telephone network used within a company that connects telephone extensions to PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and provides internal communication. The PBX systems were first introduced in the 1960s and were large switchboards where operators routed calls manually. The next batches of PBX systems enabled automatic call connectivity by dialing or pressing a number. Today, onsite PBX costs are becoming harder to justify, especially since VoIP solutions are replacing hardware-based phone systems with cloud-hosted software.

What is the Role of IPPBX?

The modern IPPBX systems provide IP connectivity for audio, video, and instant messaging communication utilizing the TCP/IP and UDP protocol stack. An IPPBX system can be combined with VoIP and DID services to reduce long-distance expenses and realize more benefits. IPPBX systems are hosted on servers per the demands based on the expected call traffic and criticality. Functions of an IPPBX system support direct inward dialing and inbound services, conference calling, PSTN interconnectivity, IVR, call flow, call forwarding, call recording, etc.

The Difference Between a Traditional PBX and IPPBX

Following are some of the major differences between a traditional analog PBX and an IPPBX:

• Traditional PBX connects to PSTN via copper wiring, allowing dependable but basic voice calls. In contrast, an IPPBX connects to VoIP gateways to send voice traffic via the internet utilizing broadband connection for incoming and outgoing calls.
• Traditional PBX systems provide simple functionalities, such as speed dial, hold, mute, and incoming call transfer to other extensions. An IPPBX offers advanced features that businesses may need to handle large call volumes, such as auto attendants, blocklist, allowlist, conference calls, voicemail, virtual phone numbers, automatic call distribution (ACD), etc.
• The traditional PBX’s hardware may fail or crash for many reasons, like exceeding traffic threshold, which may result in indefinite downtime for the business telephony system. On the contrary, if a data center of the IPPBX provider goes down, the host will route your calls to another data center, ensuring that your phone system runs smoothly.
• While you need an IT staff to configure and maintain a traditional PBX system, hosted IPPBX only needs employees to log on to its portal to manage inbound and outbound calls and extensions.

Benefits of a DID-based IPPBX System

• The ability to scale business communications up or down quickly depending on seasonal call volume spikes or campaigns
• On-demand access to toll-free, local, and virtual phone numbers that allows you to receive calls via any device remotely or while traveling to different countries
• Improved capability to control, monitor, and manage inbound calls to a remote and distributed workforce
• Eliminates the cost of setup, maintenance, and upgradation
• Dedicated servers and advanced infrastructure ensure business continuity with zero downtime.
• Enables features, such as virtual team collaboration, time zone-based call forwarding, and international calling, without additional cost

Read More - Top 7 Benefits of Direct Inward Dialing

How can a DID-based IPPBX Boost Productivity of Your Remote Workforce?
 

1. One Unified System, Multiple Virtual Teams

The biggest advantage of using an IPPBX system with DID services is that remote employees can share the same system as the office staff. It helps you keep the remote workforce in the loop with a full-featured virtual phone system, preventing isolation among colleagues.

Since virtual number provider offers a single phone number with multiple dedicated extensions, multiple virtual teams can connect directly and easily with each other to collaborate over web video meetings, audio conferencing, or chats. Unlike consumer-grade handsets, IPPBX integrates seamlessly with corporate directories, voicemail, file-sharing platforms, etc. Thus, with DID-based IPPBX, remote employees don’t need to switch between systems for web meetings or file-sharing.

2. Anytime, Anywhere, Any Device: Never Miss an Opportunity

IPPBX system combined with virtual phone numbers can be set up in a few minutes. The administrator can add, move, or remove phone numbers, mobile devices, and extensions with a few clicks or with the help of virtual number provider. Even when employees leave the remote office setup, a mobile app allows them to stay connected with the corporate phone system. Employees can have their calls forwarded to any mobile device, even if they’re traveling abroad.

3. Customize the System to Suit Your Needs

Besides robust connectivity for virtual teams, IPPBX contributes greatly because of its added functions. Businesses can choose solutions according to their needs to create customized plans. For instance, you may select direct inward dialing for routing calls directly to a particular extension, call flow manager, conferencing, etc. These different client application packages allow you to enhance your phone system into a unified communications solution. DID-based IPPBX enables remote workers to customize their phone system to display professional caller IDs, receive voicemails in their inbox, offer automated call-back options, etc.

4. An Extra Layer of Control and Security

Hosted IPPBX system can back your business with an added layer of enterprise-grade security to protect your remote workforce. IPPBX protects the data on your remote workstations with features such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256, which federal agencies use. Since IPPBX services are hosted in the cloud and require real-time connections, the providers constantly monitor their network for security issues. Whereas the security of an on-premises analog PBX system largely falls on you.

5. Enjoy Added Savings

As mentioned before, DID-based IPPBX minimizes charges for international calls and eliminates the need for a separate phone number for each employee. It also simplifies the billing process as the invoice includes the entire workforce and bills you on a pay-per-use basis. This simplified billing frees your remote employees from spending time preparing expense reports and approving phone bills.

6. Measure Performance, Not Hours

One of the advantages of remote work is that employees can better fit their work around their schedule. With the DID-based IPPBX system, businesses can track key performance indicators (KPIs) and sales metrics through detailed reports, including volume of inbound/outbound calls, duration, date, time, hit rate, time spent for after-call work, etc. Such detailed insights into performance can help you identify areas of improvement and develop better strategies.

7. Efficient Management of International Customer Support

One of the principal benefits of hiring remote workers from around the globe is you can provide 24/7 uninterrupted support to customers across various platforms. You can ensure no call is missed by routing incoming calls based on a particular employee’s working hours. Businesses can forward calls to representatives in different countries depending on the time of the day to provide 24/7 customer support without incurring extra long-distance charges.

Shift to DID-based IPPBX for making the most of remote working

A virtual IPPBX system with DID services will help you never miss a business opportunity since it caters to flexibility in the remote and hybrid working models. As this trend continues to evolve, IT professionals and network managers struggle to support a rapidly growing remote workforce. Companies must consider migrating to virtual cloud-based IPPBX systems since conventional systems no longer serve the capacity and intelligence required to connect highly distributed workforce and customers. DID-based IPPBX provides connectivity for remote employees and enables value-added features contributing to remote productivity, like security, savings, simplified billing, unified system, global scalability, and more.

BridgeVoice Pluto is a leading provider of direct inward dialing and inbound services, offering pay-as-you-go and unlimited packages for a wide range of international DID numbers using their CPaaS platform and VoIP infrastructure. Get customized quote for international virtual number.