Even prior to the Coronavirus crisis, a flexible approach to work locations had been coming into fashion for quite some time. So a lot of companies are wondering how they can extend the capabilities of their existing on-premise phone system with support for remote workers.
One great way to do this is to augment your existing on premise PBX with a cloud PBX. With a FreePBXHosting.com VPS or dedicated server, you can do just that.
Whether your existing PBX is running FreePBX or not, as long as it supports either SIP or IAX trunks, you can create a satellite cloud PBX that supports remote users with phones, mobile apps, and a remote worker-friendly VPN and firewall. Using outbound routes in FreePBX, your users can be empowered to dial existing internal extensions and feature codes on your current PBX and vice versa.
The FreePBX firewall can be configured to create automatic rules for users with dynamic IPs, or provide OpenVPN for added security.
How it works
Your existing PBX will be configured with a SIP or IAX trunk to your new hosted FreePBX instance. You will then create dialing rules for any extensions or feature codes; the exact process will depend on the type of PBX you are using. These rules will tell your current PBX what to pass to the new PBX when it is dialed on phones connected to the current PBX.
The configuration on the FreePBX server will be largely the same. Using either a SIP or IAX trunk, you’ll connect back to your local PBX and then use Outbound Routes to match dial patterns that should be sent back to your local PBX.
In the end, extensions on both systems will be able to dial between systems without going out via a SIP carrier to the PSTN, saving cost and maximizing efficiency.
Why this approach makes sense
This configuration will limit the number of SIP trunks you need to add, and SIP connections you need to license on your current PBX. It minimizes cost and avoids having to open up your PBX to the public Internet. You only need to allow access from the dedicated static IP assigned to your FreePBX VPS or Dedicated Server and you are up and running. Calls stay between the two systems and don’t have to be forwarded over the PSTN just to reach your remote users.
Ready to get started? You can order any one of our VPS plans and start building your system within minutes. If you would like more information about how you can integrate one of our hosted FreePBX servers with your existing PBX, contact our sales engineers today!
