Analog & Digital Telephony

Analog

A telephone that sends and receives electrical frequencies in the range of the human voice. Analog phones have been the norm since the advent of telephones in the late 1800s. Single-line and two-line phones that plug directly into landlines from the telephone company are analog. Analog phone systems are what businesses have been using for years. This simplistic system, built on a standard copper wire, carries not only voice but also data. That means the phone company itself provides the power, so more often than not, your phone will keep working even if there’s an electrical service outage. In short, analog phone systems are renowned for their reliability and excellent voice quality.

But is Analog right for you? Well, that depends on what you want to get out of your phone system. Analog systems are simple and have little room for expansion down the road. That makes them ideal for smaller businesses. They offer basic features such as hold, mute, redial, and speed dial buttons. Beyond that, it’s essentially your average home phone features. If you don’t anticipate growth beyond those basic features, then an Analog phone system may be the right fit for you!

Digital

Want more features from your phone system? Digital may be just what you’re looking for. Digital, both wired and wireless, is a much more modern system for today’s business tycoons. This makes them a perfect option for medium to large-sized businesses. Not based on a standard copper wire, Digital phone systems have the same, if not better, voice clarity than Analog.

Featuring all the standards of the Analog system, Digital also provides additional features such as hold music, VoIP integration (more on that later), extensions, transfers, and much more. These incredible systems can support alarm systems, voice-mail and call forwarding options. We are even just recently seeing sales software integration as well.

So the age-old question, is it right for you? It comes down to a different question altogether: “hardware or software?” Digital phone systems utilize software, which is arguably superior to that of their Analog hardware competitor. Why? Simply because of the ability to upgrade. Instead of purchasing an entirely new system, the upgrade option will allow you to stay updated on the most advanced features and options. So if you see the need for your business to integrate these features and continue to grow with communication, then Digital phone systems may be just what you need.