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.

Euphonix chooses 3CX Phone System & Polycom phones as best VoIP PBX solution

3CX Windows based software PBX and Polycom audio quality convince Audio Industry Giant

LONDON, UK and Mountain View, Calif. - Sep 07, 2009 : Euphonix, a leading manufacturer of large-format digital audio consoles, media controllers, and peripherals, has provided customers worldwide with trusted broadcast, post, live sound, and music production solutions for over 20 years. As a leader in their audio industry, Euphonix employees value high quality, high definition communications. So when it came to replacing their outdated telephone system, the Euphonix IT team turned to 3CX and Polycom, Inc. [Nasdaq: PLCM] for a state-of-the-art VoIP PBX system.

Tasked with the modernization of the Euphonix phone system, Euphonix’s Director of IT, Andor Izsak, found the offerings of traditional PBX vendors to be cost prohibitive and limited, forcing Izsak to find an alternative.

Izsak began researching IP PBX solutions and quickly realized he did not have the time for an open source Linux solution, where support, timely updates and ongoing product development may be an issue. He required a solution that could run on Microsoft Windows and had tight Windows integration

“I came upon 3CX, downloaded the free software package and was very pleasantly surprised by how quickly and easily I was able to set up a small home phone network,” recounts Izsak. “I started talking with 3CX and settled on the enterprise package with two years of support. Within a week and a half, I had the basic functionality of the old systems replicated at the new site. Not only was the roll out simple and fast, we saved a substantial amount of money going with 3CX.”

Izsak estimates savings of up to $100,000 in the first 12 months of use and anticipates the new phone system paying for itself in reduced operating costs within a year. Izsak said that they plan to implement the same Polycom/3CX VoIP solution in New York, London and Tokyo offices.

About Euphonix

Euphonix is based in Mountain View, Calif. and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, London and Tokyo. Founded in 1988, Euphonix has satisfied more large-format digital console users worldwide than any other manufacturer and continues to redefine the state of the art with its new slim-line controller products. For more information, visit www.euphonix.com/pro/about/.

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.

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.

Enterprise Unified Communications

UC (Unified Communications) promises improved employee productivity, a better managed distributed work force and faster response time to customers. But your company will only realize these benefits if it understands all the different centrale telefoniczne ways employees work while in the office, on the road and while telecommuting. This VoIP-News checklist has every question you need to ask to find the best UC solution for your business, including:

• Which business units or groups of workers would most benefit from being
  part of the first phase of your UC rollout?
• Do you need to implement additional security measures to protect the UC
  solution?
• Would you benefi t from using a vendor’s design and planning services?

Read here for more.

New Wireless Conferencing Solution Works with VoIP

There is a new conferencing solution available from Konftel. The Konftel 300W is a wireless conference phone with a rechargeable battery that can run for up to 48 hours (talk time) without recharging. It’s being shown off this week from June 17-19 at the InfoComm 2009 event in Orlando, Fla.

Since it’s a wireless conferencing solution, it can be used anywhere in a building — whether there is Voip, a phone line or not.

Read more on the story 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 in telefono ip.”

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 for telefonia ip for Trixbox and Grandstream 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 for solutione voip. 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 voice over ip 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 voice over ip 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.