What Does Direct Inward Dial (DID) Mean?

Direct inward dial (DID) is a special service provided by telecommunication companies for users of private branch exchange (PBX) systems. With the help of this system, a company can gain different set of numbers for different sections of the office. This means that the company can have different phone numbers over the same machinery. Thus, if a customer of the company is using this service and wants to call with a specific problem, they can directly contact the required person for resolving their enquiries. This is very important for a business as it saves time and ensures customer satisfaction, all in a very low budget.

Techopedia Explains Direct Inward Dial (DID)

A direct inward dial system can be understood more clearly with an example. Say a given company has hired a telecommunications company with eight trunk lines (or physical lines). It has rented 100 phone numbers from that company. However, as it has eight trunk lines, it can accommodate a maximum of eight calls at once, and all other callers receive a busy signal. Those people can either wait until the call is disconnected, or leave a message. In both cases, the satisfaction level of the customer would be low, and it can be very risky if the customer is even a little impatient. However, if the company uses a DID system on the PBX, it can automatically divert the call to the necessary operator or workstation. This saves time and money, as an additional PBX operator is not required.