Thursday, October 8, 2009

3CX Phone System gets chatty with Instant Messaging feature

New version 8 completes unified communications offering with text chat, remote phone management, CRM integration and call center features

London, UK – 6 October 2009 – 3CX today announced a new version of its popular VoIP PBX for Windows, 3CX Phone System v8.0. With the new instant messaging feature, 3CX Phone System becomes a complete VoIP Unified Communications Solution. Other new features include improved IP phone management & provisioning, integrated soft phone, find me follow me and support for the new low cost Cisco SMB phones. 3CX has also expanded its PSTN connectivity options by supporting the new low cost Berofix cards.

“3CX Phone System has gone from strength to strength – it’s now installed in more then 10,000 companies worldwide and version 8 can scale up to 512 simultaneous calls and 2000+ extensions on a single server. The new version increases employee productivity and at the same time reduces TCO because of its easy administration.” said Nick Galea, 3CX CEO “Customers already report significant savings, and with support for lower cost VoIP gateways and the prices of IP phones coming done, ROI will accelerate even further.”

Full CRM integration

Version 8 now includes full integration with Microsoft Outlook & Salesforce.com. Users of the system can automatically launch calls from Outlook without having to enter the number on the phone. All calls are automatically logged for better reporting. Inbound calls can automatically be matched to a customer record based on caller ID.

Improved 3CX Assistant

The 3CX Assistant, a Windows utility that allows desktop call control and shows presence of other users, now includes the ability to trigger recording of a phone call, as well as an integrated corporate and personal phonebook for each launching of calls. It also features an integrated soft phone, and can be used from remote locations.

Improved Call Center features

3CX now boasts advanced Call center features at a fraction of the price of traditional PBX solutions. A ‘Call Barge-in’ feature allows supervisors to literally barge in to calls. A prioritized Hunt Queue strategy allows the order to be determined in which calls should be distributed to agents. With this queue strategy it is possible to do skills based routing. A ‘ring all’ queue strategy was also added.

Mobility

Additional mobility features have been added. Calls forwarded to a mobile can be sent to company voice mail if not answered or refused by the callee, making the call forwarding feature more practical. In addition the web based MyPhone user Portal was extended to include new pages for Outbound/Inbound/Missed calls. The MyPhone portal now also includes a new, easier to use, Call Forwarding interface, as well as an extension monitoring page. Presence of other users, as well as key extension settings, can now be monitored from anywhere in the world and from any operating system!

Other features

  • Ability to black list callers
  • Company and Personal phonebook for easy launching of calls
  • Provision personal phonebook to selected IP phones
  • Improved IP Phone management: Monitor all connected IP phones and re provision or reboot if necessary
  • Secure RTP – ability to encrypt voice

About 3CX

3CX is the market leader in Windows VoIP PBX software. Its product, 3CX Phone System for Windows, has earned Windows Server Certification and has received numerous awards, including The Windowsnetworking.com Gold Award, the Windows IT Pro magazine 2008 Editor's Best Award and a Best Buy Award by Computer Shopper Magazine. 3CX has offices in the UK, USA, Germany, Cyprus, Malta, Australia and Hong Kong. For more information visit www.3cx.com.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

3CX Makes Company Phone System Talk Skype

3CX Launches Free SIP to SKYPE Gateway for 3CX Phone System users

3CX today announced that it has released 3CX Gateway for Skype, which allows VoIP Phone System users to receive and make SKYPE Calls company-wide

3CX Gateway for Skype is software based and will run on a non dedicated Windows System and on the same computer as 3CX Phone System. It is a free add-on for 3CX Phone System users, including those using the free edition. 3CX Gateway for Skype integrates Skype calls seamlessly into the phone system, allowing inbound Skype calls to be forwarded to call queues, ring groups, IVR, Voice applications and more.

“3CX Gateway for Skype allows companies to save significantly by using Skype for outbound calls. More-over, users can redirect calls to Skype numbers when out of the office and leverage Skype clients on iPhone and Windows mobile.” Said Nick Galea, 3CX CEO.

“A Skype account can also be published on the website so that customers can call the company free of charge. Skype calls will be channeled through the company phone system just as any other call and be forwarded to regular call queues. This can be significant competitive advantage for many web based businesses” continued Nick Galea.

Features

  • Completely software based, no need for a separate box
  • Full support for inbound and outbound Skype calling
  • Ability to specify a master account, which will transfer incoming
  • Calls to other Skype accounts and so keep the main Skype account free for calls
  • Supports latest versions of Skype client
  • Quickly add additional Skype accounts from the 3CX interface
  • Shows credit available for each Skype account
  • Automatic call logging

Obtaining 3CX Gateway for Skype

3CX Gateway for Skype can be downloaded from here. A detailed configuration guide is 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.

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

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Enterprise PBX Comparison Guide

VoIP News' in-depth comparison of leading Enterprise PBX Vendors including Avaya, Cisco and Shoretel covers features, services, pricing, support and more. This guide for customer premise equipment focuses on the needs of VOIP-puhelinjärjestelmän medium and large businesses.

This in-depth guide includes a comparison table for Yhtenaistetty-viestinta of:

  • Pricing
  • Features by Vendor
  • Security
  • VoIP News Comments
  • And More . . .
This comprehensive guide will simplify your research time. Please provide your contact information to download the comparison guide.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

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.

Friday, May 29, 2009

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 for Voip 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 Voip 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 voix sur IP, 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.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

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.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

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.