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Raffle: 3CX Phone System – A Windows-based Business VoIP PBX

3CX Phone System is a software-based phone system that runs on Microsoft Windows. It is designed to fully replace traditional hardware PBX’s such as Avaya and Nortel phone systems. Take advantage of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), companies are using this phone system as it’s proving to be cost-effective and easy to run.

3CX Phone System review by Jonathan Miller – Kaprico Systems

In this raffle you can win a 3CX Mini Edition license, valued at €395.00. The deadline for this contest is July 24, 2012. If you want to have a chance to win this license, please send an email with the subject “3CX” to .

3CX Phone System

Technology used for 3CX Phone System

3CX is based on the SIP standard, which means it supports the most popular VoIP phones (hard and soft phones), VoIP gateways, and VoIP services. By taking advantage of the open SIP standard, 3CX has positioned itself as an excellent VoIP system that can communicate using traditional analog (PSTN) and digital landlines provided by your telephone service provider.

With the use of VoIP Gateways, you can connect your analog phone lines to 3CX, which means that you don’t need to budget for rewiring your entire office space. As 3CX has teamed up with the leading VoIP Providers from around the world, you can use its built-in VoIP Management service without needing additional hardware.

The advantages of 3CX Phone System

The 3CX Management Console provides its users with a Windows-based point and click solution, I found very easy to manage. The fact that you can run 3CX on Windows makes my job so much easier as I can manage and maintain everything on a common platform.

3CX MyPhone

Integrating applications with 3CX Phone System

The good news is that 3CX can be integrated with Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Dynamics, Google Contacts, Salesforce.com and a whole host of other related business applications. The 3CX API allows you to basically hook up the kitchen sink.

3CX’s features such as Paging, Conferencing, Fax Server, Skype Connect support, the 3CX Hotel and Call Center modules, and the Voice Application Developer kit (VAD) could easily merit a separate article. In fact, there is a book on 3CX called 3CX Book!

What are the pros of using 3CX Phone System?

A lot of SMB’s will love the features of 3CX Phone System as it quite effortlessly ticks all the major feature points that an organization might have when in the market for a new a phone system. Here are some of these points:

• Ease on Your Purse Strings – A company doesn’t have to buy and install separate phone wiring to use 3CX Phone System. Since 3CX is installed on Windows, it can leverage your computer network to meet its infrastructure needs, freeing you from extra cables and wirings. During this financial climate, 3CX allows small and medium sized companies to save on cabling costs.
• Easy to Use – The 3CX Management Console provides system administrators with a simple web-based administration tool for installing and managing 3CX Phone System. You can say goodbye to expensive PBX technician visits as adding, editing or removing an extension is as easy as 1-2-3.
• Painless MACS – Our previous phone system was a pain when it came to Moves, Adds and Changes (known as MACS), not to mention the financial burden. With 3CX Phone System, you don’t have to suffer the managerial nightmare of moving offices. You don’t need to bring out your DIY kit and pull on a pair of overalls either as all MACS can be performed in a heartbeat using the 3CX Management Console.
• Vast Amount of Choice – 3CX have teamed up with the very best VoIP companies. You have a massive array of choice when it comes to VoIP Phones, VoIP Gateways, SIP Phones, Servers, Headsets, etc. As there are so many brands to choose from, you needn’t worry about being locked in with any particular vendor. 3CX really opens up tremendous options for clients and for companies.
• Windows-based | Software-based – As 3CX is a software based phone system, you don’t need to worry about the hardware expansion costs. In fact, with a software-based PBX like 3CX, there are significant cost savings over a proprietary hardware PBX. The acquisition and maintenance costs are considerably lower than with hardware-based systems.
• Green – A sub-point of 3CX being a software-based PBX means that the carbon footprint is next to nothing. Unlike traditional proprietary phone systems that are manufactured in large industrial plants, 3CX is built on a computer. You don’t need to ship 3CX using large cargo vessels or planes, saving on carbon emissions. It’s easily downloadable and because it’s not manufactured in industrial plants, or shipped using gallons of diesel, the costs are reflected in its final mark-up.

3CX – MyPhone Chat

What are the cons of using 3CX Phone System

3CX Phone System is a great solution for most small and mid-sized organizations but it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially for companies that have in-house Linux development teams. Companies like this normally opt for an open source Asterisk based solution.

Conclusion

When the time comes to evaluate all the avenues for selecting a phone system, I advise you to jot down the major features you want your phone system to have and the budget your company is prepared to pay. A common mistake that many system administrators make is forgetting to include the maintenance costs. Make sure you work out your cost to purchase and ongoing cost to manage the phone system.

You may also find that employees aren’t too fond of change; therefore selecting a phone system that’s easy to use should be included in your decision process. As I’ve made clear from my review of 3CX, this Windows-based PBX is easy to use, is fully packed with business and unified communications features, and costs a fraction of what a hardware phone system does.

Next steps

Before you buy, try. The guys over at 3CX have a free version that you can download. I advise you evaluate the free version before committing. You can download it from here.

In this raffle you can win a 3CX Mini Edition license, valued at €395.00. The deadline for this contest is July 24, 2012. If you want to have a chance to win this license, please send an email with the subject “3CX” to .