Empirix Introduces SIP Trunk Tester

Empirix Inc. has introduced a tool for the automated testing and verification of enterprise SIP (session initiation protocol) trunking services. The Hammer SIP Trunk Tester verifies media quality, provisioned capacity and other factors affecting the quality of service of VoIP traffic traveling over SIP trunks. The IP network testing firm claims the tool can confirm connection quality before service is turned on, saving carriers money and reducing problems.

Read more about it here.

3CX Phone System for Windows voted Readers’ Choice Award Winner

Leading Windows Networking resource site, WindowsNetworking.com, announced today that 3CX Phone System for Windows was selected the winner in the IP PBX Server category of the WindowsNetworking.com Readers’ Choice Awards.

“Our Readers’ Choice Awards give visitors to our site the opportunity to vote for the products they view as the very best in their respective category,” said Sean Buttigieg, WindowsNetworking.com manager. “WindowsNetworking.com users are specialists in their field who encounter various solutions for Enterprise Networking at the workplace. The award serves as a mark of excellence, providing the ultimate recognition from peers within the industry.”

WindowsNetworking.com conducts monthly polls to discover which product is preferred by network administrators in a particular category of third party solutions for Enterprise Networking. The awards draw a huge response per category and are based entirely on the visitors’ votes. WindowsNetworking.com visitors can submit their votes for the current Readers' Award poll in the site’s left-hand bar.

About 3CX

3CX is an international developer of telecommunications software, headquartered in Europe with offices in the UK, USA, Germany, Cyprus, Malta, Australia and Hong Kong. It is a Microsoft Gold Certified partner and is backed by an experienced management and development team. Its product, 3CX Phone System for Windows, has earned Windows Server 2003 Certification and has received numerous awards, including The Windowsnetworking.com Gold Award, the Communications Solutions 2007 Award, the Windows IT Pro magazine 2008 Editor's Best Award and a Best Buy Award by Computer Shopper Magazine, all in recognition to the company's commitment to innovation and quality.

For more information visit www.3cx.com and 3CX VoIP Blog.

About WindowsNetworking.com

WindowsNetworking.com is a Microsoft Windows Networking resource site. It is a leading Enterprise Networking site, attracting over 650,000 Network administrators and specialists a month. The site provides the latest Windows Networking services, articles and tutorials by leading Windows Networking experts, message boards, software listings and product reviews.
WindowsNetworking.com forms part of a group of sites run by TechGenix Ltd., including:
http://www.windowsecurity.com, a Windows security resource site;
http://www.msexchange.org, a Microsoft Exchange Server resource site;
http://www.msterminalservices.org, a Server Based Computing resource site and
http://www.isaserver.org, a Microsoft ISA Server resource site

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Why a Windows based PBX trumps a Linux based appliance or proprietary PBX

3CX releases a Whitepaper explaining the benefits of a windows based phone system over a Linux based appliance or “VoIP enabled” proprietary PBX

London, UK, 21 May 2009 - Companies planning to take advantage of cost savings and productivity increases achieved by using VoIP face a difficult decision what PBX solution to choose. Amongst the options are a Windows based software solution, a Linux based black box style appliance or a “VoIP enabled” proprietary PBX. The whitepaper released today by 3CX titled ‘The top 10 advantages of a Windows based PBX’ details the key benefits of a Windows phone system and explains why customers should shy away from yet another black box solution.

“A Windows based PBX solution is by far the best choice for any company that relies on Windows networks & servers. Hiding the complexity of a Linux based PBX solution in a dedicated appliance or Linux distribution is only a short term solution that will result in a much higher TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) over time. Furthermore, companies will not be able to take full advantage of VoIP and Unified communications because integration possibilities with existing Windows applications will be limited”, said Nick Galea, 3CX.

“VoIP enabled” proprietary PBXs provide only limited VoIP support and because in most cases they do not adhere to the open SIP standard, customers will be limited in choice of phones, VoIP services and gateway hardware and will not be able to get the full benefit of the VoIP ‘revolution’.

The whitepaper is available in PDF format from this location: http://www.3cx.com/voip-articles/whitepaper.pdf

Accompanying the whitepaper is a Youtube video presentation highlighting the key points, available here.

About 3CX

3CX is an international developer of telecommunications software, headquartered in Europe with offices in the UK, USA, Germany, Cyprus, Malta, Australia and Hong Kong. It is a Microsoft Gold Certified partner and is backed by an experienced management and development team. Its product, 3CX Phone System for Windows, has earned Windows Server 2003 Certification and has received numerous awards, including The Windowsnetworking.com Gold Award, the Communications Solutions 2007 Award, the Windows IT Pro magazine 2008 Editor’s Best Award and a Best Buy Award by Computer Shopper Magazine, all in recognition to the company’s commitment to innovation and quality.

Savings Still Driving VoIP Services Adoption, Infonetics Reports

There are two main reasons for SMBs (small- to medium-sized businesses) to switch to IP telephony: cost savings and powerful features. A new study by Infonetics Research indicates, however, that savings remain the dominant motive. The evidence is the study's finding that SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) trunking is the fastest growing segment of VoIP services. And SIP trunking is very much about cutting telecom costs.

Read more about it here.

3CX Hotel PBX checks in massive cost savings for Hospitality industry

New 3CX VoIP Phone System for Hotels slashes phone bills using VoIP and eliminates PBX maintenance and expansion costs

London, UK – 6 May 09 – 3CX announced today the availability of 3CX Hotel PBX module, which allows Hotels to replace aging and expensive Hotel PBXs from Mitel, Alcatel, Siemens and others with 3CX Phone System for Windows, a modern software based VoIP IP PBX. The 3CX Hotel module adds important hospitality functions such as support for Check IN/OUT, DND, Room status and Wake up calls. It integrates with leading Hotel Software / Property Management Systems.

“Traditional Hotel PBX vendors have charged a hefty premium for their ability to perform hotel related functions” said Nick Galea, CEO of 3CX. “3CX costs a fraction of a comparable hotel PBX and in addition halves the hotel’s phone bill by allowing the use of VoIP”

Hotels can eliminate Lease Payments

Hotels paying high monthly lease payments for their current PBX can drastically reduce their monthly operating cost by replacing it with 3CX. The cost of outright purchase of 3CX is so low that hotels can earn back the investment in just a few months. Coupled with drastic reductions in the phone bill, 3CX can be an important part of reducing operating costs in these times of economic crisis.

Re use analog phones

Existing Analog phones in the rooms can easily be re-used with the use of low cost FXS gateways, further reducing the initial investment cost. Re-using analog phones also means there is no need to re-wire – existing analog phone points can continue to be used. IP Phones can be used only where it matters – for example in reception. Re-using analog phones also helps the environment by reducing unnecessary brown good wastage.

Wide range of Hotel Software/ Property Management Systems supported

3CX Phone System integrates with leading Hotel Software / Property Management Systems via several interfaces, including Legacy PBX emulation, the Fidelio FIAS protocol as well as support for Comtrol’s Lodging Link middle ware. Other interfaces are easily implemented and available on request. A subset of supported PMS systems includes Agilysys, Autoclerk, Cenium, Maestro for Northwind, Fidelity Hotel Management Systemm, Micros Opera, Brilliant Hotelsoftware, CMS Hospitality Guestcentrix, ResortSuite, Gracesoft, Hotec Expert Hotelier Suite, Hotel Concept, WebPMS, Atrium INN client server systems, HSS Hotel Software Systems, Innfinity software systems and InnRoad. A complete list is available here.

3CX Phone System Hotel module is available immediately and starts at €750/$895. More information is available here. An example costing to determine ROI can be found here.

About 3CX

3CX is an international developer of telecommunications software, headquartered in Europe with offices in the UK, USA, Germany, Cyprus, Malta, Australia and Hong Kong. It is a Microsoft Gold Certified partner and is backed by an experienced management and development team. Its product, 3CX Phone System for Windows, developed specifically for the SMB (small & medium business) market, has earned Windows Server 2003 Certification and has received numerous awards, including The Windowsnetworking.com Gold Award, the Communications Solutions 2007 Award, the Windows IT Pro magazine 2008 Editor’s Best Award and a Best Buy Award by Computer Shopper Magazine, all in recognition to the company’s commitment to innovation and quality. 3CX maintains a global presence with localized information available in various languages. For more information, visit www.3cx.com and the 3CX blog.

3CX Phone System v7.1 Delivers Personal Phone Assistant for ALL

New 3CX Assistant for 3CX Phone System offers one-click call transfer, call parking, call divert, presence and more

London, UK – 23 April 2009 - 3CX today announced the availability of 3CX Phone System for Windows 7.1, which includes 3CX Assistant, a desktop utility that drastically improves phone usability and user productivity. 3CX Assistant offers extension users an easy way to transfer, divert, launch or park calls - via “drag and drop” rather then via a cryptic phone interface. In addition 3CX Assistant offers unified communications features such as extension status (presence) of other users and Call Queue information.

“3CX Assistant makes it much easier to take advantage of Phone System features” said Nick Galea, 3CX CEO. “Rather then learn cryptic phone dial codes, users can use their mouse and a familiar Windows GUI”.

Works with ANY phone including ANALOG phones.

3CX Assistant works in tandem with an existing phone, be it an IP phone, a soft phone, or even an ANALOG phone and thus delivers the benefits of VoIP and Unified communications to all. In fact, re-using analog phones via low cost FXS gateways is now more attractive and can drastically lower the investment cost in a new VoIP Phone System.

3CX Assistant features at a glance

• Transfer, Divert or Park calls with a mouse click or via “Drag and Drop”
  


• See status of other extensions and avoid “Telephone Tag”
  


• Notification upon receiving a new voice mail message
  


• View number of callers in a Queue
  


• Pick – up calls waiting in the Queue
  


• See which agents are logged on or on a call
  


• Login/Logout to/from Queues
  



• Set user status to away/available
  

3CX Phone System 7.1 has an easy to use rights system that allows granular configuration of who can see what call information and perform which call operations.

Other 7.1 features

Besides the 3CX Assistant, 3CX Phone System has gained several other important features:

• A new built in Call Reporter with many new reports including Call Queue and Agent Reports
  


• A CDR service that can output Call Data Records in any format
  


• Improved default security and installation
  


• Compatibility with Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 and 2008
  

About 3CX

3CX is an international developer of telecommunications software, headquartered in Europe with offices in the UK, USA, Germany, Cyprus, Malta, Australia and Hong Kong. It is a Microsoft Gold Certified partner and is backed by an experienced management and development team. Its product, 3CX Phone System for Windows, developed specifically for the SMB (small & medium business) market, has earned Windows Server 2003 Certification and has received numerous awards, including The Windowsnetworking.com Gold Award, the Communications Solutions 2007 Award, the Windows IT Pro magazine 2008 Editor’s Best Award and a Best Buy Award by Computer Shopper Magazine, all in recognition to the company’s commitment to innovation and quality. 3CX maintains a global presence with localized information available in various languages. For more information, visit www.3cx.com.

VoIP Nugget: 3CX Tunnel - Overview (part 1)

This VoIP Nugget explains what the 3CX Tunnel is - and why it makes configuring external extensions and bridges easier. A second VoIP Nugget will be published that shows exactly how to configure the 3CX Tunnel with the new 3CX VoIP Phone.