Some call it telephone exchange and others PABX. These are names from the past. Today it's mostly known as IP PBX or Office IP Telephony System. In some quarters you will hear of call manager, a name introduced mainly by Cisco some years back.
So, what is a PBX? In essence, a PBX manages calls in an organization. It organizes how calls are received and made. Four main things matter in a PBX. Namely:

1. External Calls
2. Internal Calls
3. Calling Features
4. Call Management

How will the company be reached by external callers? How will customers, suppliers and other external stakeholders call the company? Every PBX must provision for incoming and outgoing calls. This is done by adding lines to the PBX. External calling lines are known as "trunks" often. There are several types of lines (trunks), and these are added to specific types of ports on the PBX. Each trunk line type can make a certain number of concurrent calls, this equals the number of "channels" the trunk has.

a. Analog trunks (what telkom used to call landline); - these trunks only carry one channel. That means only one call can be made on this line at a time. These lines also do not show caller ID. On the PBX, analog lines are connected to the FXO lines. So the count of analog lines helps calculate number of FXO trunk ports a PBX needs.

b. CDMA trunks; - Telkom had a mobile (020) line, it was based on a technology known as CDMA. However, they sold the CDMA network to DOD and ported all the CDMA lines to their orange GSM network. Hardly is this a requirement in the current market. However, in the rare cases where there is a need, a CDMA gateway is used to connect it to the PBX. This gateway will either be a VoIP or an analog gateway. An analog gateway also known as FCT connects through the analog ports mentioned above; the FXO ports.

A VoIP gateway converts CDMA to IP and connects to the PBX through a network switch.

 c. GSM trunks; - GSM trunks are indistinguishable from CDMA trunks. But they use GSM technology which is what your mobile phone uses. Each GSM line is defined by a SIM card and only carries one channel, hence, one simultaneous call per line. Just as CDMA, connections to the PBX is either through GSM-FXO gateway FCT on a PBXs FXO port, or through a GSM-VOIP gateway that connects on a network switch.

GSM-VOIP gateways can come in several port configurations; number of ports equals number of SIM cards you can put in. We have 1 port, 2 port, 4 port, 8 port, 16 port, 32 port and 64 ports. We advocate for only 8 port and below, beyond that, we strongly recommend SIP Trunk.

d. SIP trunks; - Sip trunks are the most advanced, and probably the latest telephone trunks. They are based on using the internet protocol, IP to carry telephone signals. Sip trunks are not limited in number of concurrent calls. The buyer specifies how many channels they need, and the telecom service provider configures this to their system. Most common Sip trunks sold in the market are 16 channel and 32 channels. However, customers wishing for more can get more. Sip trunks connect directly to the PBX and may not need additional gateways or cards except in exceptional cases. Just before SIP became popular, there was a TDM technology called E1. An E1 was a digital line, carrying 15 or 32 channels. Some telecom companies like Telkom Kenya and Airtel still provide E1 cards.

These are defined by extensions. Extensions are phone numbers given to employees to be able to reach out to each one uniquely. Basically, how the receptionist would reach the finance department on call, without having to leave their desk. Extensions can be physical desk /  IP phones or soft phones, which is an app downloaded and installed on your phone. With that, your extension is as mobile as you are.

Analog PBX systems have ports on the PBX for extensions. Each extension is attached to a port on PBX, limiting the number of extensions the organization can have. These ports are known as FXS ports. For instance if you are selling a Panasonic KTS 8/16, you have 8 FXO trunk lines and 16 FXS extension lines. Thus limited to only 16 extensions. Technology development brought about IP Telephony systems. 

With IP telephony systems that have IP PBX, number of extensions are defined on software; therefore not hardware limited and no FXS ports are present. The limitation of number of extensions can either be defined by software licenses or CPU/RAM of the hardware PBX system. Some systems like 3CX are unlimited in extensions but limited by number of concurrent calls.

Besides the internal and external calls, the IP based Telephone system comes with many more features that are greatly beneficial to an organization.

• Anonymous Call Rejection- Reject calls from anonymous parties who have explicitly restricted their Caller ID
• Automatic Callback- Enables users who receive a busy condition to monitor the busy party and automatically establish a call when the busy party becomes available. This service can only be activated when calling within the business.
• Call Logs Reports- Provides users with call logs for received, missed and placed calls.
• Call Forwarding Always - Redirect all incoming calls to another phone number. If activated, users must specify a forwarding number.
• Call Forwarding Unreachable - Allows for configuring a location,such as a mobile, where a call should be redirected when the main device is unreachable, for example if there is a power outage at your office.
• Call Hold- Enables users to hold a call for any length of time by pressing a feature key on an IP Phone. Parties are reconnected again when Hold is disabled.

• 
  
• Call Return- Enables users to call the last party that called, whether the call was answered or not.
• Call Transfer (3rd party consult) - Enables you to consult with the 3rd party before transferring a call.
• Call Transfer (Blind) - Enables users to transfer a call to a 3rd party without consulting the 3rd party. To initiate a blind call transfer, the user presses the ‘transfer’ button and dials the 3rd party. The user then hangs up.
• Call Waiting - Enables users to answer a call while already engaged in another call.
• Caller ID Block - Enables blocking of identity to the called party.
• Do Not Disturb - An extension can activate a do not disturb to block incoming calls to a call cascade option. Do not disturb can be used to block calls to an extension & to forward calls to an extension.
• Hoteling (Hot Desking) - Companies often reserve a set of cubicles and phones for mobile workers who come into the office from time to time. ‘Hoteling’ enables mobile users to share office space and phones on an as-needed basis, like a hotel room.
• Last Number Redial- Enable users to redial the last number they called.
• Voicemail (+MWI) - The arrival of new voicemails can be signaled with a visual message indicator at the extension telephone set. New voicemails at shared voice mailboxes can be indicated to a set of extensions. Stuttered dial tone is also provided for sets without message – waiting indicators.
• Auto Attendant- This convenient feature provides you with use of a virtual receptionist. Automated and on-duty 24/7/365, this assistant can answer your phone calls, speaking politely to callers and transferring them to extensions of the appropriate staff members or departments via menu options. It is commonly known as IVR.
• Auto-Call Distribution (ACD) - As an advanced model of the call-search feature, this option can actually locate and connect the correct office and employee to handle each incoming call.

• Business SMS. – With this valuable function, you can direct text messages to your clients, business associates or departmental divisions through your business phone number from your mobile phone.
• Call Barge-In. – This valuable option enables the user to place a call as a conferencing barge. This forced barge-in results in a three-way call along with a listen in or call monitoring capability. Company officials have the option of using a warning tone to announce the barge-in to call participants on the line.
• Call Me Now. – This helpful feature enables clients to enter their telephone numbers on your business website to reach your company directly.
• Call Recording. – This sophisticated feature supports employee recording, playback, downloading and deletion of all calls, both inbound and outbound. Usually offered as an extension option, users can program this function for use on selected extensions or over their complete systems.
• Conference Bridge. -With this useful function, companies can host their own conference calls. With most VoIP service plans, the average number of participating callers is about 15 to 25 for a reasonable flat monthly charge.

When away from the office, the following useful features can aid employees in placing, receiving and managing business phone calls;

• Day/Night Mode. – This handy feature makes it possible for phone users to designate different calling rules for daytime working hours and night hours when the office is vacant. The nightly mode continues on auto-set until the daytime mode is turned on by staff members.
• Find me/Follow Me. – Working in sync, these two technical options enable receiving calls at different places and/or via different telephones. The Find Me feature discovers the designated employee’s location while the Follow Me finds the phone for this location.
• Hunt Group. – This function allows groups of phone extensions to handle certain calls. Related to this feature is Line Hunts, a convenient call option permitting calls from one number to be distributed to multiple lines within a group of phones.
• User Web Portal. – New VoIP service users are granted access to a web portal to manage different aspects and features of their accounts. By using this portal, users can add or cancel usage options, pay their monthly bills, review and edit account settings, manage calls, set phone greetings and other outgoing messages, and direct caller traffic and call distribution.
• Video Conferencing – State-of-the-art VoIP systems for business include video conference calling, providing each participant with a live video view of all other participating callers

This is the design and implementation of inbound and outbound calls in an organization. This is best elaborated under the various IP PBX systems provided by Talinda East Africa.

What is an IP Telephony PBX System? We hope you have leant a thing or two on PBX systems. Thank you for reading.

Our Solutions include the VoIP Telephony Bundle with Free Installation (3 IP Phones, 1 IP PBX, 1 PoE Switch), Matrix Open SIP Video IP Phone with PoE (SPARSH VP710), Avaya J129 1-Line IP Phone – Open SIP, 3PCC for Modern Offices, GXP1628 Grandstream 2 Line Desk Phone (Gigabit), ESCENE ES270-PC, Avaya J179 8-Line IP Phone – Open SIP, 3PCC – 700513630, WP820 Grandstream Enterprise Cordless Wi-Fi Phone, Yealink SIP-T27G 6 SIP line IP Phone, Avaya E169 Media Station(E169 700508095), X4 FANVIL X4 Enterprise IP Phone, Cisco 8811 5-Line VoIP Phone – CP-8811-K9 and Cisco 3905 1-Line VoIP Phone – CP-3905 among others

Online meetings have become very popular, in particular Zoom, Google talk, Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex. A Kenyan startup has also launched an online meeting space, Gumzo. The most sought after systems are easy to use, need minimal registration and have a free offer. There are audio conferences, Video Conferences, Webinars, team task collaboration spaces and Corporate chat systems. In another article, I will clarify the difference.

Webcams, Video conferencing kits & cameras, Conferencing audio systems and visual systems like TV screens are the hardware needed to make your meetings flawless. Security and safety have been major challenges, with reports of people being hacked while in meetings. Paid systems are mostly safer, for us we use Zoho meetings which is uber clear, can hold both conferences and webinars and if considerably safe and secure. Most cloud systems are now focusing on safety and security and this is the new frontier of growth.

This is mostly a cloud computing and Security specialization. Depending on where your servers are, or where the organization computing and storage for work resources are, for people to work from anywhere, they need to securely access their work resources. These resources include shared file services, customer information, service delivery applications like ERPs, CRM, Help desks and other corporate resources. One you can do a Virtual Private Networks, choose to have remote desktop access, set up a cloud computing network or simply sharing files between home offices to create a virtual office setup. This is as detailed below;

VPN is not vulnerable to direct attack, and encryption protocols can make the transfer of information through VPN to employees working remotely very secure. It is setup on your firewall, ensure you have all the licences. The biggest threat to a VPN-based remote access solution rests with the remote worker. If the employees PCs are not protected, they could transfer viruses and malware to the VPN. Also, with an always-on broadband connection, connection to a VPN can make it vulnerable if employees don’t disconnect. This is resolved by ensuring you have a proper Network Access Control system with comprehensive user and device management policies.

This is much easier to set-up than VPNs and are a product of unattended remote control service. In order to establish a connection to a company server, businesses may choose to use a remote server access solution. This allows remote users to gain access to important files, software, and print services from a remote location TeamViewer which is traditionally used for help desk, Aeroadmin , Any desk and Remote Utilities are some of the tools we recommend.

Using Public, Private or Hybrid clouds organizations can build their own cloud computing services which then offer their employees a browser based access to the corporate resources. In a different article we shall detail how organizations can achieve these. On the cloud, there are also existing services offered mostly by ERP suppliers that could be extremely essential for work from anywhere office set-ups. A few we love include Office365, Zoho One, ERPNext, Quickbooks online, Sage online, SAP and Oracle.

Service customers remotely require that organizations are able to stay in contact regardless of being away from the office. The evolution of the telephone system has significantly enabled this.

Today's call centers do not have to be located in a large ugly warehouse with industrial air management. Call center agents and supervisors can work remotely, serve customers as usual with similar quality to onsite call centers. With Omnichannel contact systems, proper CRM integrations, a secure cloud or remote server connection, Browsers and headphones, the agent and supervisor are set. WebRTC is the technology that enables browser based call systems. It eliminates the need to have soft-phones as applications as this can be very limiting. However, this can also be achieved with soft-phones. Reach out for more info, we have a very rich collection of call and contact center systems of all sizes that can help you achieve this.

You can have the PBX in the office being used remotely with the usual extensions and rules. This can be through Cloud/Hosted PBX that can be a managed service or self hosted system. Cloud PBX systems have evolved since MTN Business launched Kenya's first Hosted PBX system in 2011. Today,

• you can have a hosted PBX system by hosting your own PBX on cloud, 3CX, Hodusoft, Yeastar, Vicidial, Asterisks and a host of other PBX systems allow this.

• Other systems like Avaya connect and Cloudone, are a managed service
• If you have a hardware PBX, do not despair, we may not put it on cloud, but we can setup features like Call forwarding, follow-me and soft-phones, that can enable your employees to be reachable remotely.

• Traditionally we only have had GSM desk phones that are standalone, working mostly as home or small business phones. With new technologies, we have GSM-IP Phones, they come as both an IP Phone and a 4G router. These connect through a 4G sim card to the internet, then a secure tunnel is created on the 4G link to the office PBX, giving a SIP connection that enable the extension to be configured as other office SIP Phones.
• These are also very useful for areas like gate houses that maybe too far from your facilities, instead of pulling fibre to them which is the traditional solution. Click here to buy

To do any of the above, all users will need to have a proper internet connection. Some of the available services include

• Fibre to the house
• 4G LTE internet connection; reach out for a permanent Safaricom 4G link of up to 7Mbps that's almost similar to fibre. If your location has no fibre services.
• Google Loon Services

People working from home need tools that will improve productivity. Check out the ones below on shop.

Laptops, Docking stations, Webcams, TV screes, Mounting brackets, Headphones, All in one Computers, WiFi Range Extenders, WiFi routers, GSM Phones, iPads. For large homes with Internet access only in the room where the service provider router is located, we have an array of services and products that can help get internet to all rooms. Reach out to us for customized solutions. We are the Best Technology shop in Kenya