General Phone System Features
Call Logging, Call Reporting
Blind Call Transfer, Attended Call Transfer
Call Forward on Busy or No Answer
Call Routing (DID) / Caller ID
Conference Calling
Voice Mail / Music on
Hold
Ring Groups & Hunt Groups
Central Phonebook
Call Parking and Pickup
Call Queuing
Call Recording
Dial by Name
MWI - Message Waiting Indicator
BLF Status Updates
Conference Rooms
Intercom
Paging
Management and Scaleability
Web-Based Management Console
Configuration Wizard
Real Time Web-based System Status
Integrated Web Server
Automated Restore and Backup
Firewall/NAT Friendly Configuration of External Extensions via Tunnel
Integrated Enterprise Database (PostgreSQL)
VM Ware / Hyper V
Unified Communications & Mobility
MyPhone Self-Service User Portal
Receive Voice Mail via Email
Make Video Calls
Advanced Forwarding Rules Based on
Caller ID, Time and Type of Call
Integrate Branch Offices with 3CX Bridges
Standards-based Presence Information
Integrated Fax Server
Receive Faxes via Email as PDF
IP Phone Management
Automatic Phone Provisioning
Remotely manage
IP phones
Manage IP Phones Network-Wide
Plug and Play Support
Provision Network-Wide with Correct Settings
Restart one or all Phones Remotely
See Firmware Network-Wide
Update Firmware Network-Wide
3CX MyPhone
Web-based Utility
Shows Incoming Calls
Shows Caller ID
Shows Personal Call History
Divert Calls to Voice Mail
Queue Monitoring
Shows Status of Other Extensions
Run as Presence Monitor with Desk Phone
3rd Party Application Integration
Microsoft Outlook Integration
Salesforce Integration
HTTP API to Integrate with any Web CRM
Microsoft Exchange 2007 UM
Devices and Providers
Supports Popular IP Phones
Make and Receive
Skype Calls
Supports Popular
SIP /VoIP Providers
SIP Trunking Support
Free Communication Links to 3CX and other SIP Servers
Codecs (Voice Compression)
G711 (a law and u law), GSM, Speex, IIbc
G722
G729*
Softphones
Supports Windows, Android 1.6 and iPhone 4.0 and Up
Includes Tunnel to Avoid NAT Problems
Auto-Provisioning / Remote Configure
Remote Configure
SIP Standards Support
Fully Supports RFC 3261
SIP Forking
Establish
SIP Trunks with other SIP Servers
Automated Attendant (Auto Attendant)
A system that answers calls and provides the caller with enough information to chose who they need to speak with and then transfers the call to that group or individual. Some companies use this technology to make their business look larger and others use it as a backup to live answering.
Caller ID (CID)
The "called from" name and number that is transmitted and displayed over telephone lines. The caller has the ability to block delivery of this information by dialing 67 before dialing the destination number.
Gateway
A device that connects to the network and converts a signal to be transmitted via IP. In telephony the classic use of a gateway is to convert POTS or analog lines to IP. As an example, we use a gateway to bring SIP Trunks into an xBlue Key System.
Hold
A business feature where a call is temporarily held by the KSU or Server and the caller typically hears music or an announcement during this time. Hold is used while sending the caller to another extension, while setting up a conference call, or while answering another call or simply when looking up information.
IP (Internet Protocol)
A protocol that specifies the way data is broken into packets and the way those packets are addressed for transmission. Unlike traditional telephone lines which create a straight path from caller to recipient; IP uses the best available path at any given moment to move data packets between point A & point B. The beauty of IP is that the sending end and receiving end communicate success in sending and receiving to insure all data packets are delivered. A really great concept of IP is that of self healing. If a route is broken and the data packets cannot be delivered an alternate route is automatically selected.
Server
The central processor in a network. In our case the server supports the telephony functions in a VoIP network. It manages the connections between the phone lines and the telephones, voicemail, etc.
SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)
Internationally recognized IP telephony signaling protocol used for VoIP. This is the most widely used protocol in the market and is a standard meaning anybody who builds a SIP 2.0 compliant product should work with any other SIP 2.0 compliant device. For instance our Talkswitch is compliant so any off the shelf SIP phone will work as an endpoint for a home phone or a remote worker. The trick with SIP 2.0 is that the combined devices will work to the feature set of the lowest common denominator meaning a SIP 2.0 telephone only support 80% of the SIP feature set then even though the telephone system supports a higher set of features, you will only have the base features of the phone.
SIP Trunk
A new industry sprang up around providing lines via SIP as an alternative to analog or digital lines. These new trunks typically provide cost advantages and some feature advantages over the older counterparts. The best know early seller of SIP trunks for your residence is Vonnage, but now older and more stable companies offer SIP including the traditional telephone and cable companies. Telco Depot offers its own branded SIP Trunks which bring you tremendous savings and give you hardware and SIP Trunks from one vendor.
Skype
An IP telephony service provider that offers free calling between subscribers and low-cost calling to people who don't use the service. In addition to standard telephone calls, Skype enables file transfers, texting, video chat and videoconferencing. The service is available for desktop computers, notebook and tablet computers and other mobile devices, including mobile phones.
Softphone
A software program for making telephone calls over the Internet using a general purpose computer/laptop, rather than using dedicated hardware. Often a softphone is designed to behave like a traditional telephone, sometimes appearing as an image of a phone, with a display panel and buttons with which the user can interact. A softphone is usually used with a headset connected to PC, or with a USB phone.
Transfer
This business feature allows an employee to send a call to another phone without having to announce the call first. This is the typical means for moving a call through a PBX phone system.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
This is simply the carrying of voice via IP meaning a standard voice stream is broken into packets at the transmit end, sent over a standard data network (such as the Internet) and reassembled into a voice stream at the receiving end. VoIP traffic is trickier than normal data traffic because the timing of packets on the receiving end is critical. For more detail see Basics of the Internet.