3CX Phone System V10 BETA available

Finally! 3CX Phone System v10 Beta 1 is out of the door. V10 is a major release, with an all new – Silverlight based – user portal, 3CX MyPhone. The new 3CX MyPhone replaces the 3CX Assistant and the old 3CX MyPhone portal. Everything is now grouped in one easy to use portal.

The new 3CX MyPhone is web based, but can be installed as a desktop application. In this mode it uses the browser in the background but allows the user to resize 3CX MyPhone to their preference, as well as launch it automatically. 3CX MyPhone should also run on Macs.

More information and download links here

Microsoft endorses software based PBX for Windows

Last week Microsoft announced that the next version of Microsoft OCS 2007 will include PBX functionality and will be renamed to Communications Server. The product will be released some time late this year.

So what does this mean to the PBX market and in particular to 3CX and our partners? Well first and foremost it’s a huge endorsement of what we have been doing until now: The market is heading towards software based PBX, and away from proprietary systems such as Cisco and Avaya and away from Linux black box systems such as Trixbox or Switchvox.

Microsoft’s marketing investment in communicating this to customers will significantly enlarge the Windows based software PBX market. This is likely to be a huge shot in the arm for 3CX marketing – we now have an ‘ally’ in explaining why your next PBX should be Windows based.

At the same time, we have ‘gained’ a significant competitor and the question is how much of this now huge Windows PBX market will choose Microsoft Communications Server over 3CX Phone System.

The days that Microsoft would enter a market and take it over are long gone. Look at Microsoft ISA server or One Care Anti Virus. Microsoft has a hard time competing against VMware. Does everybody use Sharepoint or even Internet Explorer? And in the case of telephony it does not have a big strategic advantage in terms of integration with other Microsoft products. The Office 2010 communication APIs will be available to 3CX and we will achieve a similar level of Office integration.

Sure the Microsoft brand is strong, and Microsoft will capture significant market share. But there are millions of companies out there that are searching for an easy to use, open standard and inexpensive solution and that is something that Microsoft Communications Server most definitely is not. And they will look towards 3CX........

3CX wins Readers Choice Award

3CX just won a readers choice award - ahead of Cisco and Asterisk. See the full information on the readers choice results here:

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/news/WindowsNetworking-Readers-Choice-Award-IP-PBX-Servers-3CX-Phone-System-for-Windows-Apr09.html

Advantages of a Windows based PBX

Last week I released a whitepaper explaining the advantages of a Windows based PBX over an appliance or a linux based PBX. I detailed the top 10 benefits. You can view the whitepaper in PDF format here. 

I also created a short presentation on youtube. Feedback welcome!

3CX checks in at hotels worldwide to bring VoIP to Hospitality industry

I read somewhere that about 30% of telephony ports worldwide are installed at Hotels. That might be exaggerated, but undoubtedly there are a lot of hotels worldwide with large phone systems in place.

And most of these hotel pbx systems are overpriced, aging and ‘under featured’. A huge opportunity therefore for 3CX. 

I am convinced that a software based PBX, with its flexibility and adaptability can be more easily integrated with hotel software then a traditional PBX, an appliance or a Linux based PBX. Furthermore, the hospitality industry can greatly benefit from voice applications.

So I am happy to announce the release of 3CX Hotel Module – which turns 3CX Phone System in to a full featured hotel PBX that supports Check in, Check out, DND, Maid status, billing, guest voice mail and more. And supports popular hotel software such as Fidelio and more.

Watch my Youtube presentation on the new module here, or read the press release!

Hak 5 Internet TV show gives 3CX heads up!

I was happy to see 3CX on Hak5 today. Actually, very happy :-)  Hak5 do Internet TV shows on Technology and the content is actually pretty cool. Matt LeStock showed how to install 3CX in under 10 minutes, which included running the install process which takes quite a chunk of that. Some qoutes from Matt:

"After having an urgent need to replace our aging PSTN based telephone system which costs $100/hr for some monkey to come in and make a simple extension change, my company decided it was time for something we could control." 

"My company is a Microsoft shop, end of story. I have no need, nor the time to do something in linux that would take me personally longer than it would in Windows. You may be quicker, and that’s good for you, but I can’t be bothered. Windows works for my company, and that’s all that you need to know"

"All in all I’m pretty satisfied with the 3CX package. While I can’t get into every nitty gritty detail of my phone system, I don’t need to. The software works, a few small issues not withstanding) and I can eventually turn over basic user maintenance to someone who isn’t an IT person because it really is that easy to use."

Lovely! Couldnt have said it better! Thanks Matt!

Take a look at the show!

3CX Assistant preview

And here it is. A sneak preview of the new 3CX Assistant. What will it do? Well its an easy to use utility to allow users to manage their extension - take, transfer or park calls. It works in tandem with any phone. It also shows presence of all other users, and can be used to see Queue status as well if you have the rights.

We are working on a beta, which should be available in a few weeks time.

Stay tuned!

New 3CX Softphone

Over the past few months we have been working on a new, light weight soft phone. It should be quicker to install, load and easier to use.

Get more information about it here.

Or download it directly here.

Let us know what you think!

Version 7 paves the way for the future

After many months of hard work, I’m pleased to announce that we have just released 3CX Phone System version 7. Version 7 is a major release, because, besides many new features and improvements, it also had major architectural changes.

We tightened our integration with the Windows platform, by converting to .NET and integrating with IIS. We also built a set of APIs which makes our system more extensible and more easily expandable. These ‘under the hood’ changes will bear fruit in future versions and will serve to quicken the pace of adding features.

Our software-based approach and choice of the Windows platform has already been paying off – we were able to release 4 major versions in the past 1.5 years. With v7’s architecture, we will be develop even faster and deliver more new features and, therefore, productivity gains for our customers. We have numerous features and add-on products in development that will be launched during 2009, which will put 3CX firmly in the leading position in terms of technology and feature set.

For more information on 3CX Phone System version 7, read our blog post with a video detailing all the enhancements and/or read our press release.

3CX Phone System v7 alpha released

It took us a while longer, but its finally here: 3CX Phone System V7. Key new features:

• Completely revamped interface, with many usability improvements
• Ability to set advanced forwarding rules per extension based on caller ID, time received and whether its an internal or an external call
• Apache was replaced by a Microsoft Web Server, Cassini, which is more windows friendly, or optionally IIS can be used
• Added support for running as a virtual instance in Hyper V
• New configuration wizard which makes first setup easier
• Improved performance of system.
• MyPhone User portal is now also available on the free edition
• Ability to offer callers a way to exit out of the queue and leave a message instead of waiting
• Ability to have callers go straight to voice mail if no one is manning the queue.
• Support for using Sangoma cards as VoIP Gateways, either installed on the same machine or on a remote machine
• Resolve inbound calls to an outlook contact – incoming calls can automatically bring up the appropriate contact record based on the caller ID

You can download v7 alpha here

Manual is here

We have a special forum for feedback on v7.

Deerfield.com’s Visnetic MailFlow integrates with 3CX Phone System

Last week Deerfield.com released a new version of its email management package that allows integration with 3CX Phone System, making the process of handling both incoming customer calls and email more seamless. For example, agents can launch a call to a customer that sent in an email with a single click. This makes it easier for the agent to call a customer to resolve a problem, which is often more efficient then playing ‘email tennis’.

This type of integration is where a software based PBX for Windows shines – in its ability to talk to other Windows business applications, and deliver real productivity gains for a customer.

Its these productivity gains, and ultimately an edge over their competition, that will drive customers towards a Windows based software PBX, and not yet another “black box Linux appliance”. Customers want more then a dial tone, they want integration, and a Windows based phone system is in the best position to deliver this ….

Microsoft launches free Hyper V server based on windows 2008 core

Microsoft just announced that it has made Hyper V server available for free download. To be clear, we are not talking about the Hyper V that is bundled in Windows 2008, but a separate, stand alone ‘distribution’ of Windows 2008 core and Hyper V. The host license itself is free, but of course any copies of Windows that you run virtually on the machine must be licensed. This makes Hyper V server the functional equivalent of VMware ESX. See the comparison between Hyper V server and Windows 2008 here (scroll down). Vmware and Microsoft are making virtualization more accessible and more cost effective, but the biggest gain will be that both firms are likely to continue to deliver virtualisation innovations faster then ever before.

In 3CX terms this means that virtualising the PBX is now even easier and more cost effective. By virtualising the PBX, you can save on hardware costs, energy costs and above all administration/management time. Think about it – you can make a complete backup of your PBX on a DVD!

3CX VOIP phone released

We have just officially launched the new free 3CX VoIP Phone for Windows.

What makes it different from other soft phones is that 3CX VOIP phone has been developed with the business user in mind - the interface is clean and easy to use. Further more it includes the all important Call Transfer, which is not available in many free soft phones. There have been quite a few blog posts about it already: VOIPguides, Tom Keating and VOIPmonitor wrote about it already.

You can download 3CX VoIP Phone here. Press release is this way

3CX Phone System gets Windows IT Pro award

Dan Blunk talking about 3CX Phone System for Windows

3CX Phone System recently got an Editors award from Windows IT PRO magazine - pretty cool stuff because Windows IT Pro is a long established and respected magazine. Great news for the 3CX team!

Sneak preview of v7 interface

We are working full steam ahead on version 7 of 3CX Phone System. We're currently testing our new interface. The screenshot gives you a sneak preview of whats in the works.....

3CX Phone System version 6 is already here

With the 2008 Olympic Games just around the corner, we are set to enjoy some record-breaking events this summer - and this seems to be the inspiring mood at 3CX of late.

Not sure if we just broke a record, but it certainly feels like it! Only 20 working weeks after releasing version 5, the 3CX development team has completed version 6 of 3CX Phone System for Windows. This is an achievement that can only be seen on a software-based PBX like ours. I doubt if anybody can possibly name one traditional PBX that is able to turn around a new
version this quickly and efficiently.

The large number of advanced features included in this new version makes 3CX IP PBX an even more competitive product, and we are very proud with the result. Probably one of the top additions is the new Windows 2008 support. This allows organizations to virtualize their PBX and run a phone system without the need for an appliance or an extra server, benefiting from considerable energy savings - not to mention the lower administration costs.

Other new features available on version 6 are call conferencing, paging, intercom, ability to send faxes with MS Windows Fax, BLF and phonebook provisioning, enhanced SIP interoperability and extended HTTP API.

The future of chat and presence - XMPP? Or Microsoft's OCS Bulkware?

There is a lot of talk about chat and presence in the enterprise. And of course as an IP PBX / Unified communications vendor 3CX is closely looking at chat. I am not sure most companies need chat, but definitely there are going to be enterprises using it. Right now chat in the enterprise (if allowed) is probably fragmented, with users installing clients of popular chat networks.

So what are the options? Of course the ever proprietary Microsoft has a solution - its 'Jack of all trades, master of none' product called Microsoft Office Communications Server. It does chat. Kind of. It has a proprietary client which works only with OCS. OCS itself requires a truck load of servers to setup and doesnt talk to any of the leading chat services. So with OCS you can now chat to the guy in the office next door. Great. Surely enterprise chat only works if you can use it to connect to todays AND tomorrows popular chat networks? Yahoo, MSN, Google et all? And talk to your customers, suppliers - the world basically? I am pretty sure chat can only be succesfull if based on an open standard. Just like the web is, email is, voip is.

Is XMPP this open standard protocol that will open up chat & worldwide presence? Its been around for a long time and has a lot of support. The Jabber chat server and its derivatives are based on it. Google uses it in its chat network, and there are loads of gateways to other chat networks implemented and working. If you would want chat, wouldnt you want an XMPP based solution? They are inexpensive (with several free options) and with lots of client options.

So where does 3CX tie in? We're evaluating our options how to integrate into enterprise chat. Do we create a simple integrated chat solution with SIP simple? Do we integrate with OCS? Or do we integrate XMPP and allow phone presence to be viewable in any XMPP compatible chat server and client?

I'd welcome the feedback from our 3CX community! Is chat important to you? If yes - standards based?

3CX Phone System version 6 on the way

The 3CX development team have been keeping busy over the past few months, and I am happy to report that version 6 of 3CX Phone System is just around the corner. We have added numerous features, including;

• Conferencing server - to make conference calls with up to 32 callers
• Intercom - intercom/page any extension
• Call Queue status update information from the 3CX Softphone / VOIP client
• See parked calls in 3CX Softphone / VOIP client
• See all active calls in the system from the admin interface - ability to disconnect calls
• Improved provisioning - we can now also provision the BLF lights on a phone
• Phonebook - we can provision the most popular phones with a phonebook
• HTTP API to enable/disable call recording for any extension
• HTTP API to disable/enable extensions or to disable outbound calls for an extension
• Improved call logging with extensible call reports
• Improved IVR and Call Queue functionality

We have also spent considerable work on the backup and restore procedure. Version 6 should be a painless upgrade, not requiring separate backup and restore and making the restore process much faster. (reduced from hours to minutes)

All in all a considerable upgrade from v5.1. We we're not able to add the new interface yet, but its in the works. We are hoping to release a beta of v6 within the next 2 weeks......

Aastra and Linksys support added

At CEBIT I met up with Product managers of Aastra and Linksys phones. With their support we have been able improve our support for both phone brands of phones. Build 4393 of 3CX Phone System now includes provisioning support for Aastra phones as well as BLF support.

Linksys provisioning support will be added by next week, whilst Linksys has announced BLF support in its new firmwares out in about 1-2 months. (BLF support is already available on Linksys 962 phones, but we need to make changes to support Linksys BLF) We are busy working on supporting Linksys BLF in version 6 of 3CX Phone System - due out some time in May.

The good thing is that companies now have more choice of phones they can use with 3CX: Aastra, Linksys, Grandstream, Polycom and of course SNOM.

CEBIT 08 – some observations in regards to VOIP

Just got back from the yearly ‘CEBIT trip’. It was the first time we represented 3CX at the worlds number one IT fair. We exhibited in Hall 13, and I joined my Colleagues Chris, Kevin from 3CX and Andreas from our distributor Ebertlang.

I must have spoken/demo’d 3CX to at least 100 people – and noticed a number of trends in the VOIP business:

• Hall 13 – more or less the ‘VOIP’ hall, was one of the strongest visited sections of the show. There was constant and strong traffic. It would seem that VOIP is gaining in popularity and the market is ready to start mass deployment
• The use of VOIP gateways rather then PCI add in cards is clearly more advantageous – people are seeing the advantages of taking the Analog/ISDN to IP conversion off the box and making the gateway independent from operating system versions. Especially in the linux area where a kernel update can effect the device drivers of the voice cards.
• Virtualization of the PBX seems to be well received. Rather then using a separate IP PBX appliance, virtualize the PBX under Vmware, or Hyper V of Windows 2008 server.
• VOIP equipment is becoming more mature and more widely available. I picked up a Siemens DECT IP phone for 80 euros at the local Media markt in Hannover – something that was unthinkable a year ago. It worked out of the box with 3CX Phone System