I was surprised to learn that not many people outside of this industry know what VoIP is. Every time someone new asks me what I do for work and I answer with “marketing for VoIP technology” almost immediately there is look of confusion followed by a “what is VoIP?” question. I’m left wondering, how can anyone STILL use analog technology when they could be using VoIP? If you are wondering the same—or even what VoIP is—you’ve come to the right place.

A few years back, I was fortunate to speak at Ingate’s Unified Communications and SIP Trunking Summit in Miami. An interesting discussion developed, making it clear to us that the term PBX has an outdated connotation for many people. The idea that the PBX is simply a voice server requiring extensive wiring couldn’t be further from reality. As the discussion progressed about what the modern day PBX can accomplish, many heads in the room began to turn. People began to question whether the industry as a whole should adopt a new term to describe these powerful UC devices? Regardless, it’s important to continue educating the channel and end user businesses that the PBX has evolved – and SIP is to thank for that. In the past, terms like legacy, voice, and analog were used to describe the PBX. Today, terms like UC and open source now apply. SIP technology has forever changed the PBX (now known as an IP PBX) to the point where a new introduction is needed.