New office in 3CX Australia

New 3CX Australian office to serve booming IP PBX software market with innovative 3CX Phone System for Windows

Sydney, Australia – 11 September 2008 – 3CX (www.3cx.com), developer of the award-winning 3CX Phone System for Windows, has opened an office in Australia. The Australian presence will play a key role in the expansion of the company’s partner network in the area, as well as, help support Australian-based users of 3CX VoIP Phone System.

3CX Phone System for Windows is an award-winning software-based IP PBX that replaces the traditional proprietary hardware PBX. It is based on the SIP standard, and therefore interoperates with most popular SIP phones, VoIP Gateways and VoIP providers. It allows businesses to completely break free from the restrictions of costly hardware-based proprietary phone systems and is very easy to manage by system administrators as it integrates well with Windows Network infrastructure.

“VoIP is seeing a staggering growth in Australia and 3CX is in an ideal position to offer the market an innovative product that meets the IP telephony needs of small and medium sized enterprises with 3CX Phone System for Windows.” said Richard Rundle, Director 3CX Australia.

“Australia is a key market for 3CX and our Australian team can give businesses in the area the know-how and support required to successfully adopt a complete IP PBX for Windows, and enjoy the many cost-reduction and productivity enhancement benefits that our product has to offer.” said Nick Galea, CEO, 3CX.

According to analyst group IDC, at the end of 2007 the install base of IP Telephony systems in Australian companies hit the 50/50 mark with traditional phone systems. Furthermore, IDC reports a whopping 40% increase in SMB purchases of IP PBX systems in Australia during the last quarter of 2007.

3CX Australia Corporate Office details:
Suite 201
84, Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Telephone: 1300 79 89 25
Fax: 1300 79 89 35
Email: au.info@3cx.com

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 IT EXPO Best of Show award 2007, 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 offices in seven countries and localized information available in various languages. For more information, visit www.3cx.com.

Telco fails

The local phone company isn’t likely to offer innovative services for small businesses. In fact, VoIP equipment sales to traditional phone companies and the like is trending down. THey just arent investing in updating their technology

That could be a mistake though.

According to the latest feature from VoIP News — the main site:

They could theoretically improve their margins if they did buy. VoIP “softswitches” are cheaper to purchase and operate than the giant traditional Class 5 phone switches the carriers used to use exclusively. But the telcos aren’t buying traditional switches either, according to Collins. The reason: their voice business isn’t growing, it’s shrinking. Thanks to competition from cable and wireless providers, their total subscriber numbers are declining, as is their revenue per subscriber. Thus they can’t justify expenditures on new VoIP switches, even if they’re relative bargains. “All they’re trying to do is save money and hope subscribers don’t go to cable or wireless,” Collins stated.

Read more about it here.

Nothing Phony about Free 3CX VoIP Phone Offer

3CX delivers a business soft phone completely free of charge

London, UK – 2 September, 2008 – 3CX (www.3cx.com) has announced the release of a totally free new VoIP phone that allows users to make and receive calls from their computer using popular VoIP providers or SIP servers. 3CX VoIP Phone, unlike other free soft phones, has a straight forward, business-style interface and includes important business features such as call transfer.

Nick Galea, CEO at 3CX said: “3CX VoIP Phone is great for businesses that wish to have an easy to deploy, business-level VoIP soft phone. Because it is free, the usual hassle of administration of client licenses is avoided. The free editions of other VoIP phones do not have key features such as call transfer or the ability to put a call on hold.

“VoIP Phones are an interesting option for businesses – they are easy to administer and environmentally friendly. Hardware phones require additional electricity, administration and desk space.”

3CX VoIP Phone has a user-friendly and intuitive interface with dial pad and buttons that make transferring or forwarding calls a breeze. It also allows users to review their history of calls, put calls on hold, to easily accept, reject or ignore calls with a mouse click, and much more.

Launch calls from Microsoft Outlook – without re-typing the number

One of the key features of 3CX VoIP Phone is its integration with Microsoft Outlook. Users can launch calls directly from their contacts’ list within Outlook by just right-clicking on the name of the person they wish to call. There is no need to dial any telephone numbers since Outlook works as 3CX VoIP Phone’s address book.

Other features of 3CX VoIP Phone

• Supports several SIP profiles
• Shows personal call log/history – ideal for salespeople
• Message Waiting Indication (MWI)
• Supports G.711 (A-Law and u-Law), GSM, iLBC and Speex codecs
• STUN support for NAT/firewall traversal
• Installation provided as MSI for easy deployment

Key advantages of 3CX VoIP Phone

• Completely FREE – no license fees or hidden charges for use of advanced features
• Not proprietary – can be used with most popular IP PBXs and VoIP providers
• Quick and simple installation
• Easy to use via an intuitive user interface with dial pad and buttons
• Environmentally friendly

The new 3CX VoIP Phone can be downloaded totally free of charge from: http://www.3cx.com/VOIP/voip-phone.html

About 3CX and 3CX Phone System for Windows

3CX is an international developer of telecommunications software, headquartered in Europe with offices in the UK, Germany, Cyprus, Malta, USA, Australia and Hong Kong. It is a Microsoft Gold Certified partner and is backed by an experienced management and development team. 3CX Phone System for Windows is an award-winning software-based IP PBX that replaces a traditional proprietary hardware PBX. It is entirely SIP standard based, and therefore interoperates with leading SIP phones, VoIP Gateways and VoIP providers. 3CX’s IP PBX has earned Windows Server 2003 Certification and has been developed specifically for the SMB market with a full set of features that make it simple to install and manage. For more information on 3CX, 3CX Phone System for Windows and 3CX VoIP Phone visit www.3cx.com.

Can Google's Search Ad Revenue Sustain YouTube, Diverse Ventures?

Can Google's Search Ad Revenue Sustain YouTube, Diverse Ventures?
( Page 1 of 2 )

Google has buttered its bread in advertising as the largest search engine. But some industry observers wonder whether Google's reliance on search to buoy its YouTube property and other investments, including Google Apps in the SAAS messaging and collaboration sector, is sustainable in the long run. Don't count out Google yet, as the company has spawned considerable application development efforts such as Android, which could be a big hit in the mobile and wireless smart phone space.

Read more about it here.

3CX Phone System for Windows Named 2008 Editor’s Best Award Winner by Windows IT PRO

August 5, 2008, - London, UK – 3CX has announced that 3CX Phone System for Windows was named as a silver medal winner of the “2008 Editor’s Best Awards” in the Messaging category by Penton Media’s Windows IT Pro magazine.

“The 2008 Editor’s Best Awards utilize our editors' product knowledge and subject matter expertise to identify exceptional products that benefit the Windows IT Pro and SQL Server Magazine reader communities,” said Jeff Lewis, group publisher. “Our editors selected winners based on the product's strategic importance to the market, its competitive advantages and its value to the customer.”

“Our editors are tough, in-the-trenches critics,” Lewis continued. “They demand solid value and performance from the products they select. Editor’s Best Award winners can feel proud that the products and services they developed have earned the respect and recognition of the Windows IT Pro and SQL Server Magazine editorial staff.”

Centralino IP PBX is a multi award-winning software-based IP PBX that replaces traditional proprietary hardware PBX. It is based on the SIP standard, and therefore interoperates with most popular Telefono VOIP, for Piccole Societa and VoIP IP. It allows businesses to completely break free from the restrictions of costly hardware-based proprietary phone systems and is very easy to manage by system administrators as it integrates well with Windows Network infrastructure.

“We are honored to receive this award from Windows IT Pro magazine. Being recognized by editors from such a prestigious publication confirms our commitment to delivering an innovative and top quality product,” said Nick Galea, CEO 3CX.

A video of Dan Blunk with Windows IT Pro talking about Centrala PABX can be seen on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3DNrKZzZoI

About 3CX

3CX is an international developer of telecommunications software, headquartered in Europe with offices in the UK, USA, Germany, Cyprus, Malta 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 TMC Labs 2007 Innovation Award, The Windowsnetworking.com Gold Award, as well as, the IT EXPO Best of Show award 2007, the INTERNET Telephony Magazine Product of the Year Award, the Communications Solutions 2007 Award, and the Windows IT Pro magazine 2008 Editor’s Best Award, all in recognition to the company’s commitment to innovation and quality. 3CX maintains a global presence with offices in seven countries and localized information available in various languages. For more information, visit our website.

VoIP in the Politics

In some circles, it may be considered gauche to toot one's own horn. But VoIP-News doesn't run in those circles, so have a peek at this story about the use of VoIP in political phone banks. (You did notice that this is a national election year in the U.S., right?) Phone banks are old school, but VoIP can be at the core of applications that let volunteers call from any Web browser yet stay rigorously on script. It's an interesting case study and an interesting application.

Sinte signs with 3CX

Sintel, the Telecoms and Security market expert, has enriched its portfolio by signing an agreement with 3CX for their IP PBX software developed on Microsoft Windows platform.

In recent years, the IP PBX market has been booming. The advantages of an IP phone system are so obvious that the number of companies equipping themselves with IP PBXs is stupendous. Sales of IP telephone equipment are currently increasing by more than 50% per year. There could be no question of Sintel being a mere bystander in such a growing market.

"The objective was to offer our distribution network a competitive and state-of-the-art enterprise telephony solution. The task was a difficult one because we wanted a high performance solution that would still be very simple to install. Another constraint, and not the least of them in an area where the use of Linux is pervasive, was to find a 100% Windows solution!” (Peter Hammett, Managing Director of Sintel)

3CX Phone System is an IP phone system (IP PBX) developed on Microsoft Windows platform and designed as a complete replacement for the traditional PABX for Voip. It has been developed using the SIP standard and is interoperable with most IP telephones, VoIP gateways and operators for unified communications, both traditional and VoIP (Voice over IP). The connection with the telephone network can be made via VoIP gateways such as VegaStream and/or via a VoIP provider, through the internet.

As for physical deployment, no need for specific phone cabling as communications pass through the computer network using IP telephones or PC soft phones. It is also possible to connect traditional phones using FXS adapters.

For the network administrator, 3CX offers major advantages such as ease of installation even with VoIP gateways, simplicity of deployment (i.e. automatic provisioning of IP phones), straightforward management via its Web interface and great flexibility of its licensing arrangements. It is perfectly adapted to small and medium sized businesses which don’t have the benefit of specialised VoIP knowledge or their own IT staff.

Much more economical than a traditional PABX, 3CX distinguishes itself by the large number of functions available such as integration with MS Exchange Enterprise Edition, centralised management of lines and extensions, voice messaging integrated in the email inbox, IVR, optional remote connection, fax server, call recording, etc. 3CX also meets the needs of companies seeking to increase the mobility of their employees. With 3CX employees on the move are perfectly integrated into the telephony system of the company, in just the same way as desk workers, and have access to the same features wherever they are. And the presence detection function means they are always visible to their colleagues.

"I have to say that 3CX is a really extraordinary solution, which of course offers all the features of the traditional PBX but equally proposes all the IT innovations available. And its main advantage is its simplicity of installation and especially of deployment." (Sylvain Puteaux, Product Manager at Sintel)

The icing on the cake: 3CX is available in a FREE edition – fully functional – allowing companies with limited needs to equip themselves free of charge and to take advantage of the multiple advantages of an IP PBX.

For companies wishing to have all the advanced features, 3CX is available for the price of €375 for 8 simultaneous calls (about 15/20 users), or €795 for 16 simultaneous calls (about 30/40 users), and can go up to €4,600 for 128 simultaneous calls (about 250/400 users).

3CX Phone System for Windows has been specifically developed for the SME market; it is certified for use with Windows 2003 Server and has won several awards including the TMC Labs 2007 Innovation Award, the Windowsnetworking.com Gold Award and the 2007 IT EXPO Best of Show award.

About 3CX

3CX is an international developer of telecommunications software, headquartered in Europe with offices in the UK, USA, Germany, Cyprus, Malta 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 received numerous awards, including the TMC Labs 2007 Innovation Award, The Windowsnetworking.com Gold Award, as well as, the IT EXPO Best of Show award 2007, the INTERNET Telephony Magazine Product of the Year Award, and the Communications Solutions 2007 Award, all in recognition to the company’s commitment to innovation and quality. For more information, visit www.3cx.com.