Comparison

Cost
Effectiveness

The traditional PABX system is a dedicated phone network system.

In order for the traditional PABX solution to offer features such as voicemail, interactive voice response (IVR), automatic call distribution (ACD), reporting and call accounting, it requires third party subsystems to be connected to the main PABX box for each of these features.  Each of these subsystems requires its own set of hardware and software. This leads to duplication of hardware and resources. Resources include floor space, electricity, software like operating system, anti-virus software, PABX ports and extensions for connection purposes.

For example, the company must purchase additional hardware such as special line cards for the ACD hardware, call queuing management system, hardware and software for the ACD. There may also be a requirement to upgrade the operating system of the PABX. These translate to higher initial and running costs.

The company also ends up with more hardware and software than is required for each additional feature desired. This adds to the incurring of unnecessary expenditure for the additional features.

The PowerX2000™ telecom server is an all-in-one system. There is no subsystem involved. All features are integrated into the same system.

The company does not need to pay for duplicate hardware and resources.

Pricing

The traditional PABX solution consists of a PABX box connected with third party subsystems such as voice logger, voicemail, interactive voice response (IVR), call sequencer, statistical reporting system and call accounting.

Feature for feature, the PowerX2000™ telecom server is at least 50% more attractively priced compared with the traditional PABX solution.

Running Costs

The additional routing due to the external nature of the subsystems and the resultant delays results in the company spending more costs in terms of power consumption, maintaining complex and additional multi vendor infrastructures, hardware and software, hiring more agents and subscribing to more trunk lines.

The elimination of delays translates to huge savings in the hiring of additional agents and subscription of trunk lines. There is only one system to maintain so it saves costs for the company in terms of power consumption and maintenance costs.

Maintenance Cost

The add-on subsystems and the main PABX system are from different vendors. Hence a multi-vendor environment is created.

Maintenance costs are higher due to the need to support the main PABX system as well as the add-on subsystems.

As there is only one platform to support, the maintenance costs are lower.

Compatibility

As each add-on subsystem comes from a different vendor from the main PABX system, they cannot be fully compatible with each other. As a result, the company cannot maximize the enjoyment of all the features each subsystem can offer.

There is no compatibility issue (that is, 100% compatible) as the hardware and software are built ground up to match each other in the PowerX2000™ telecom server.

Advanced PABX Features

The traditional PABX, on its own, is a dedicated phone network. It only serves to connect incoming calls from trunks to internal extensions and outgoing calls from internal extensions to trunks.

Even today, most PABX solutions still do not have all the comprehensive features offered by the PowerX2000™ telecom server in one platform.

The PowerX2000™ telecom server is able to provide advanced features such as CTI (Computer Telephony Integration), multi-channel communication management (voice, fax, email, internet calls, web chat) and Unified Messaging (voicemail, fax and email).

Unlike the multi-vendor environment of the traditional PABX solution, the features are built into the system.

Direct Linkage to CRM/ERP Applications

In the traditional PABX solution, CRM and ERP applications are third party software. Any linkages have to be carried out through third party interfaces.

The PowerX2000™ telecom server has a built-in interface which can link to any ODBC-compliant CRM/ERP system to deliver services such as screen popups, reading and updating of transactions for example account balance, etc.

Multi-Channel Communication

The traditional PABX is mainly designed to handle voice calls only.

The PowerX2000™ telecom server is designed to manage multi-channel communication. This includes voice call, voice-over-Internet-Protocol, SMS, fax, email and web chat.

It allows for multi-channel broadcasting and notification services too.

It also supports multiple channels through the AED (Automatic Event Distribution) feature.

Any special hardware

As the traditional PABX system has to bundle with third party hardware and software in order to offer advanced features such as ACD, the extent of integration and equipment to be purchased is subject to constraints from both systems. For instance, the third party ACD can only work with special line cards and call sequencer to connect the automatic call distribution system to the main PABX system.

Hence purchasing a third party subsystem alone is insufficient. It also entails purchasing of other auxiliary equipment/hardware (could also be third party) to enable it to work with the PABX.

All features such as ACD form part of the PowerX2000™ telecom server so no other hardware or software is required.

Robustness

After spending all the additional money to add on the capabilities of the subsystem, there is still no assurance that the configuration would generate optimal results.

As a general rule, running multi-vendor, multi-system solutions normally result in a drop in the quality of service, difficulties in upgrading and limited flexibility in configuration.

The quality of service provided by PowerX2000™ Telecom Server is higher and the solution is generally more robust. This is because there is no reliance on multi-vendor, multi-system solutions.

Reliability

The external nature of the subsystem in a traditional PABX solution poses some issues which affects the reliability of the overall system for example subsystems which require real time data.

The data which the PABX sends to the Call Accounting subsystem and any reporting subsystems, for instance, is based on real time.   If the subsystem is down, it cannot receive the data and the data is lost forever.

To overcome this problem, third party systems are installed as buffer boxes to collect any overflow data.   Once the buffer is full or if the buffer system fails, data is lost again.

The system failure may go unnoticed until it is time for the administrator to collect routine reports or call accounting data from the subsystem and this usually only occurs at the end of the month. By then, the lost is too great!

The PowerX2000™ telecom server provides automatic back-ups.

It also has built-in notification options and offers a list of communication channels for alerts to be sent.

Scalability

In the traditional PABX solution, each subsystem is an external entity from the main PABX system. It connects to the ports in the main PABX system via extension lines.

This strains the already limited resources in the main PABX system. As more features are offered, more cards need to be added to the PABX to cater to the increased requirements.

There are limited ports and card slots on the PABX.   When the available card slots are used up, PABX expansion modules (boxes) need to be added to provide more ports and extensions.

Unfortunately not all PABX can be expanded. In such cases, the entire PABX system has to be revamped and replaced with a new PABX system which can support a higher capacity. Besides incurring costs for the purchase, installation and commissioning of a new PABX system, the user has to incur costs to remove the existing PABX system off site. When this happens, the existing PABX system becomes a white elephant and new proprietary equipment such as handsets have to be purchased for the new telephone system. Proprietary handsets are usually costly.

For the PABX systems which can be expanded, there is always a ceiling to the total number of extensions it can provide. Once the limit is reached, the system has to be revamped and replaced too.

Hence such systems do not scale easily.

The PowerX2000™ telecom server is scalable up to 5,072 ports.

Flexibility vs Constraints

The traditional PABX solution is a hardware-driven solution. In order to offer features such as ACD, hardware such as call sequencer (complete with accompanying software) need to be installed as external subsystems to tap onto the main PABX system.

Each PABX main system consists of limited card slots for each type of cards. To evaluate whether a particular feature can be offered, it also depends on, amongst other factors, the number of available card slots for, say, ACD in the existing PABX. There are also physical restrictions as to how many agents each card can support.

For example in the case of ACD, at the very best, each special card can only cater to a maximum of 25 agents. If the call center has 101 agents, it needs to purchase 5 line cards, which translates to a whole line card for the last agent. This means higher costs and less flexibility for expansion.

Another setback is that each card can only support one workgroup. Thus, if you have two workgroups, you will need another card even when there are enough leftover extensions in the first card to cover the second workgroup.

There are no restrictions on the available voicemail ports, conversation recording ports, ACD workgroups/members and IVR menus.

There are also no limitations on the number of extensions or agents that can be created per workgroup.

This represents a huge savings in initial investment and subsequent maintenance costs.

Ongoing Support

The traditional PABX system is normally closed to users, that is, it is a ‘black box’ to them.

Most warranties specify that companies (users) are usually not allowed to ‘touch’ the PABX equipment. These equipment are usually stored in a dedicated locked room within the company premises and the key is kept by the PABX vendor. Alternatively the equipment is housed in a locked cabinet with the key kept by the PABX vendor.

There is heavy reliance on the PABX vendor to carry out all configurations to the system regardless of simplicity. For example adding a new member to an existing ACD workgroup can only be done by a qualified technician supplied by the PABX vendor.

This translates to higher maintenance costs as such services are usually chargeable. The cost increases when more than one system is involved.

Time to deliver is also subject to the availability and schedule of all technicians involved.

There is less reliance on the vendor to implement minor changes to the PowerX2000™ telecom server system configuration. The graphical administrative interface empowers any trained IT staff/administrator to make changes to the system configuration, design new IVR menus, etc through a series of mouse clicks within a few minutes.

Product Lifespan

The product lifespan of the traditional PABX system is limited. The features are usually hardware based. Any upgrade involves additional hardware which translates to additional costs.

There are also limited hardware parts for maintenance and upgrade as the system is phased out over time.

The maintenance for the PowerX2000™ telecom server covers software upgrades.

All customers enjoy the latest available software features and this increases the lifespan of the system.

Proprietary Equipment

Users of traditional PABX systems are locked in to the use of proprietary equipment supplied by the PABX manufacturer. Due to their proprietary nature, they tend to be exclusive and expensive.

One example is the phone handset. The proprietary handsets supplied for a particular PABX model may not always be compatible with another range even when both PABX systems are supplied by the same vendor. Imagine the cost if all the handsets have to be replaced in order to upgrade to a PABX of higher capacity when the company expands!

The PowerX2000™ telecom server is built on market available standards such as MS Windowsâ based interface, Crystal Reportsâ, ODBC compliant databases for the CTI, and standard analog telephone handsets.

Using the handset as an example, imagine the amount of savings a company can gain! The handset is the most commonly used equipment in any telephone network. If a company has 100 extensions, it would usually need 100 handsets.

Upgrading and Expansion

As this is a hardware-based solution, upgrading can be both costly and complicated. Growth is also confined to the hardware constraints of the limited proprietary resources.

The company also needs to factor in time and manpower for upgrading or expanding the PABX-subsystem capacity.

A significant amount of time will be spent on interface testing amongst the subsystems.

Software upgrades to the subsystem and PABX are normally chargeable.

The company can carry out its own configuration for any expansion via the user-friendly GUI and windows® based administrator application.

Customization

The traditional PABX solution is difficult to customize due to the multi-vendor environment. Changes to one subsystem may impact the main PABX system and other subsystems. More than one vendor may be involved and additional coordination efforts are required from the company (user) in order to effect a change. This translates to additional costs for the company.

The PowerX2000™ telecom server's design is modular and based on open system standards. This allows tremendous flexibility in customization.

Features

The external subsystem may not have all the features offered by the PowerX2000™ telecom server. For example, the third party ACD in the traditional PABX solution can only provide limited call distribution rules. There is only one routing rule for most traditional ACDs. This rule is on a "first-come-first-served" basis.

The PowerX2000™ telecom server is able to offer many options for each of its features. For example, for ACD, there are numerous call distribution parameters available and changes can be made from time to time to select the most appropriate call distribution parameters. Examples include "most idle first", language preference, "lease talk time", etc.

As an integrated solution, it is able to offer greater flexibility and more complex options such as the capability to handle complex inbound calls based on the extensive call distribution rules. Some of these rules are impossible to program in a traditional PABX with an ACD add-on..

Performance

As each subsystem is external to the traditional PABX system, additional routing is required to connect each subsystem to the PABX.

This results in delays in system calls or data transfers as the longer distance require more data traveling time.

As features are offered through external sub-systems in the traditional PABX solution, the performance of these features are also affected.

For example in the case of ACD, when a call is received, it is answered by the main PABX system and is placed on hold. The PABX system then checks with the external subsystem to find the next available agent. In order to do this, the ACD system has to poll the status of every agent until the free agent is found.

Once the available agent is located, the ACD system releases the 'hold' facility on the call and does an internal transfer to the agent's extension.

This round-trip of checking and transferring incurs a waiting time for the caller. Note that this waiting period can range from 20 to 30 seconds per call.

Imagine if 5,000 calls are received per day. This translates to 28 man-hours or 7 agents. This delay results in a need for more agents, trunk lines and system resources. The situation is further compounded when there are more call queues or when the agents are located in remote sites.

The PowerX2000™ telecom server is a fully integrated all-in-one system managed by the smart IntelliMatrix™ engine.

System calls and data transfers take a much shorter route as all components are within the same system. Thus they move faster.

The modules in the PowerX2000™ telecom server also have instantaneous access to the latest system parameters like number of available agents, updated call traffic information and queuing parameters. There is no need to poll the availability status from a third party system.

Using ACD as an example, there is no need for the system to check on the availability of agent before applying the appropriate call distribution rule.

The IntelliMatrix™ engine in the PowerX2000™ Telecom Server keeps track of the status of every available extension. For call centers that span geographical regions, every one of the IntelliMatrix™ engine in each location has instantaneous update of the status of every extension in the distributed call centers. This results again in seamless and very fast response whenever the ACD is distributing an incoming call.

The PowerX2000™ telecom server is able to transfer a call based on call type information without the need to answer and hold the call.

From the above, we can safely conclude that the speed of distributing an incoming call is significantly faster using the PowerX2000™ telecom server compared with the traditional PABX multi-vendor environment.

Information Display

Information displayed to the agents and workgroup normally consists of LED displays, basic call statistics reports and optional agent consoles.

The modules in the PowerX2000™ telecom server have instantaneous access to the latest system parameters like number of available agents, updated call traffic information and queuing parameters.

The information can be displayed on LED, LCD or even over the Internet.

In addition, the PowerX2000™ telecom server supports extended caller ID information. This means that information like number of callers in queue, workgroup voice mail etc. can be transmitted and displayed on standard Caller ID handsets.

Future Relocation

In the event of physical relocation of a major division, it is not possible to split up a traditional PABX system into multiple smaller PABXs.

Additional costs need to be incurred to purchase an additional PABX system to support that division.

In the case of the PowerX2000™ telecom server, the telecom servers in the Main Building and Annex can function as one PABX system or split into a few independent systems.

In the event of physical relocation of a major division, say 40% of the existing capacity is moving, the servers can be split up into more than one PABX system.

There is no need to purchase an additional PABX system to support the division that is relocating.

Troubleshooting

Each subsystem in the traditional PABX solution is connected externally to the main PABX system via a series of extension or data port cables. As more and more features are offered, the labyrinth of cables becomes more and more complex. When the system fails, it requires more effort on the part of the administrator to navigate around the complicated network of cables and subsystems and finally locate the source of the problem.

The traditional PABX solution is also based on a multi-vendor environment. When fixing a problem in one area in the traditional solution, consideration must be given to its impact to the rest of the subsystems in the coalition.

In the event of system failure, the response time to restore the system back to its working state is comparatively slower as this process may involve different vendors and multi-system configurations. In the event of any physical damage to the PABX and various subsystems, it may take more than one day to for the traditional PABX system to recover. This is due to the complexity in setting up a traditional PABX and integrating the various subsystems.

The PowerX2000™ telecom server is a fully integrated all-in-one system.

There is no need to search through a labyrinth of cables and nodes to identify the source of a problem.

There is also no third party vendor and system to contend with when carrying out fixes.

Redundancy and Disaster Recovery

In the event of system failure, the response time to restore the system back to its working state is comparatively slower as this process may involve different vendors and multi-system configurations.

In the event of any physical damage to the PABX and various subsystems, it may take more than one day to for the traditional PABX system to recover. This is due to the complexity in setting up a traditional PABX and integrating the various subsystems.

The PowerX2000™ Telecom Server is very compact and highly portable. In the event of system failure, GrowHill’s technical support team will physically bring in a temporary system, restore the most recent configuration and replaces the existing system within a few hours.