There are several mainstream types of Business Communications Systems:

Electronic: uses hardware to switch voice paths to connected devices (i.e. relays). Early telephony systems used this architecture. (Example Aria 28, Aria 148). Electronic systems are very feature limited and are currently offered by very few vendors.

Digital: uses Digital signalling (very much like ISDN) to connect devices, and to maintain call integrity and call flow performance. Digital systems heralded greatly improved flexibility of call flow design and overall speech clarity. (Example: Aria 34e, Aria 186). Digital technology is very robust and less expensive (than IP) to manufacture, but is considered to be limited in its scope for future feature improvement. As such it is now a legacy technology (although the recent emergence of IP based Digital Hybrid systems have revived some advantages of this technology).

IP (Internet Protocol): uses Internet Protocol to connect and maintain devices throughout the phone system. IP communications systems signalled another leap forward in feature flexibility and complexity. (Example: iPECS (50~600)). IP systems are typically based on very powerful processers, capable of supporting the growth of new features for some years to come

Hybrid: these systems attempt to combine the best of both technologies (IP and Digital). They fall into either the older generation Hybrid or newer generation Hybrid systems:

• Older Generation:Digital based systems that are IP capable. (Aria 24ip, ipLDK-300). Initially evolved as existing Digital technology with IP functionality added.

• Newer: IP based Systems that are Digital capable. (iPECS-MG (100 & 300)). As these are IP based the systems offer the same future proofing of feature set, as well as the efficiency advantages of Digital technology afforded in some installation scenarios.