Difference between IVR and PBX

So, what the difference between your IVR and a soft PBX-system? They look the same to me. Basically just a pbx router.

The main difference is IVR is a more generic and more flexible software. It is designed for ANY interactive voice response application, while a soft-PBX system is specifically designed for PBX features, such as call routing, auto-attendant, and voicemail. Being a more generic software, an IVR system can provide all the PBX features, but not vise versa. On the other hand, if all you need is PBX features, a Soft-PBX system is normally easier to setup.

IVR is like a generic Dell computer and PBX is like a Sony playstation game console. You could use the Dell computer to play games, but the playstation is a more specialized game platform. On the other hand, you cannot use the game console to run your spreadsheet program or database system.

An IVR system is usually better for customization. This is ture even for some PBX features. Consider the following example. Suppose your business wants to implement smart call routine based on who is calling, what type of products the caller has purchased, and which agent has the matching skill set while has the lowest pay rate, etc. To accomplish this, the software must get the caller ID, check it with your customer database, run some program or script, then route the call to the selected agent. A PBX system, with the goal for easy setup, is usually not capable of providing this type of customizations.

An IVR system is for generic voice applications. For example, field technicians can interact with an IVR application, instead of human, for filing job completion report and checking next assignment.

An IVR system also supports outbound call applications while a PBX system usually provide minumum outbound features. With Voicent IVR Studio, it is fully integrated with Voicent Broadcast By Phone autodialer.