PBX telephone system maintenance – why bother?
Legacy telephone systems versus VoIP and unified communications
Businesses continue to use PBX telephone systems on the public switch telephone network (PTSN) rather than choosing to switch to IP telephony and unified communications, despite the rise in popularity of VoIP (voice over internet protocol).
Why is that?
Traditional PBX telephone systems have proven themselves reliable, having been around for a long time, and in an unreliable economy, organisations are hesitant to change. Many prefer instead to pay for PBX telephone system maintenance to keep their current business communications running for as long as possible. As the saying goes, ‘if it isn’t broken, why fix it?’ and the advantages of using a system that is reliable and secure often goes above making a complete change.
VoIP or hosted solutions allow the provision of voice communications over the internet. This permits organisations to operate business communications without the need to purchase expensive hardware. Choosing hosted (or cloud) telephony provides an affordable and scalable solution for businesses. Wide scale adoption of VoIP technology, however, has yet to occur. This is due to initial problems of call quality and dropout, with companies needing to have strong data connections on reliable and secure platforms for the technology to be effective.
If a business operates a telephone system now considered ‘legacy’ i.e. no longer produced by the manufacturer, this does not mean that they should change to something new. Older PBX systems, replaced by manufacturers for newer models and then discontinued altogether, can still be kept running to the highest of standards.
MF Communications supplies a wide range of spare parts, accessories and phones for older, legacy model PBX systems by major manufacturers such as Siemens (now Unify), Ericsson, Aastra, Nortel, Avaya and Mitel. We understand that a new telephone system is not always the best solution. Providing regular PBX telephone system maintenance to help extend the life of your current system is a major part of what we do. We can assist you with upgrading your system, either through hardware or software updates. We also provide fully refurbished parts and additional handsets that are no longer available to buy, so we urge you to contact us first before you make any major decisions about changing your system. Find out more about our maintenance services here.
PBX telephone system maintenance can include regular check-ups or a one-off call out. If you are moving offices, there is no reason why you should not take your old system with you. We have qualified engineers who can assist you with all that you need to maintain your system, including finding and dealing with faults. If you experience a sudden crash to your system, our engineers are able to come to you to carry out any emergency repairs. Click here to report a fault.
Whilst you may or may not be considering whether to make that major move to upgrade or change the way you organise your business communications, there is no need to feel pressured into changing just because you operate a legacy system. VoIP technology continues to evolve and it is not going anywhere, but neither is the phone system. For as long as this technology continues to exist, MF Communications will continue to supply businesses that wish to operate PBX systems on this network. When you are ready to make that change, we can advise you on your best options, whether it be a brand new PBX system or a move towards more unified communications.
