Continued analysis of the supply chain attack at business communications provider 3CX has revealed a byte-by-byte match in code between that found in the trojanised 3CX program and North Korean state-sponsored hacking group Lazarus.

The revelation marks the first specific attribution for the attack. When first announced, the evidence simply pointed broadly to a North Korean threat actor.

Researchers from Sophos published the discovery, saying code found in the portable execution (PE) shellcode loader used in the 3CX attack has only ever been seen in attacks attributed to the Lazarus group.

"The code in this incident is a byte-to-byte match to those previous samples," it said in its blog post which was updated on Thursday evening.

3CX developers 'missed red flags'

Security researchers from ReversingLabs found that 3CX had missed signs that its client had been tampered with before releasing an update.

They compared two macOS installer packages, the last known safe version and the first known compromised version, and found several "red flags" that prompted a deeper investigation.

ReversingLabs said its own software indicated that a Microsoft digitally signed binary was modified after signing without breaking the signature integrity, something that could not happen by accident during the build process.

"Developers would have had to make a conscious choice to implement a change like this, and that would never happen for a software component they own," the researchers wrote.

"Other indicators of malicious intent were hard to come by as the malware hides itself as a statically linked function with ffmpeg library. But even without observing the malware execute, there are enough suspicious goings-on just in the diff between the two 3CXDesktopApp updates to warrant a deeper investigation."

The researchers added that there was "no sensible explanation" for their observation that RC4-encrypted shellcode was added to the signature appendix of the package's d3dcompiler and a reference to the compiler's library in the installer's ffmpeg library.

This process suggested to malicious activity had taken place, and was later proven in the attack's analysis.

ReversingLabs' analysis of the compromised package's metadata concluded that the attack was likely facilitated by a compromise of an open source repository, and that 3CX could have spotted this in the development process.

The company's researchers said they believe that a repository on which 3CX's Electron app relies was tampered with.

Such attack scenarios have become popular in recent years, with attacks on PyPI, PyTorch, and npm all making headlines.

The compromised DLL files, ffmpeg and d3dcopiler_47, are shipped with the Electron open source framework as standard and are unlikely to trigger alerts from security products.

Also, d3dcopiler_47 is signed with a Microsoft certificate, one that has no known reports of issues, meaning endpoint protection software, in most cases, would see it as safe.

"ReversingLabs' analysis of the modifications made to the company’s 3CXDesktopApp suggest that there were telltale signs of tampering with the company’s desktop client software prior to its release," it said in a blog post shared with ITPro.

"Had these signs been noticed during development, it should have triggered a closer analysis of the software release and, possibly, discovery of the breach and malicious code additions."

3CX CEO offers update

3CX's CEO Nick Galea revealed on 31 March that the company knew about the issue as far back as 22 March after it received an alert from SentinelOne.

The company uploaded the supposedly malicious file to the VirusTotal malware detection platform to verify the report.

Galea said that the service didn’t show that the file had malware, even displaying an indicator from SentinelOne on the platform that it was fine. 3CX repeated this a week later on 29 March and received the same results.

3CX realised it had been breached later that day and has now recruited incident response specialist Mandiant to investigate the incident.

On 30 March, the company confirmed its desktop software had been tampered with, and said it could have been carried out by a state-sponsored attacker. Customers were encouraged to uninstall the app, and reinstall a version which wasn’t impacted by the malware.

Business communications firm 3CX confirmed the downloader for its voice over IP (VoIP) desktop software has been tampered with and now installs a version that sideloads malware onto a victim's computer

The issue, dubbed 'SmoothOperator', is believed to be a supply chain malware attack carried out by a suspected state-sponsored threat actor, with attacks starting last week, according to user reports.

3CX revealed in a blog post on Thursday that it noticed a “security issue” in its Electron Windows App with Update 7, version numbers 18.12.407 & 18.12.416.

It added that antivirus vendors may have flagged the legitimate 3CXDesktopApp.exe and uninstalled it.

3CX said it was still researching the issue, but believes it originated in one of the bundled libraries it compiled into the Windows Electron App via GIT. The domains contacted by the compromised library have already been reported, with most shut off overnight, said CISO Pierre Jourdan.

“A GitHub repository which listed them has also been shut down, effectively rendering it harmless,” he said.

“Worth mentioning - this appears to have been a targeted attack from an Advanced Persistent Threat, perhaps even state-sponsored, that ran a complex supply chain attack and picked who would be downloading the next stages of their malware,” said Jourdan. “The vast majority of systems, although they had the files dormant, were in fact never infected.”

The company is currently working on a new Windows App that isn’t affected by the issue, and will also issue a new certificate for the app. Jourdan said this will take at least 24 hours.

He also encouraged customers to use its PWA app, which is completely web-based. “The advantage is that it does not require any installation or updating and chrome web security is applied automatically,” he said.

3CX CEO Nick Galea said in a company forum post that the issue was reported to the organisation on the evening of 29 March.

He recommended uninstalling the app and installing it again, and added that if customers are running Windows Defender it will uninstall it automatically. Galea said the company is going to analyse the issue and release a report later on Thursday, but is now only focusing on the update.

Analysis of 3CX's supply chain malware attack

Researchers from cyber security vendors CrowdStrike, Sophos, and SentinelOne published alerts on 29 March detailing that the 3CX desktop app had been compromised.

Sophos said the malware installs via a DLL sideloading scenario "with a remarkable number of components involved".

These include the legitimate 3CX desktop app itself, which continues to operate as normal after installation, a dynamic link library (DLL) with an encrypted payload, and another DLL acting as the trojanised malicious loader.

The trojanised 3CX desktop app is the first stage in a multi-stage attack chain. Icon (ICO) files are then downloaded from a GitHub repository, which dates back to December 2022, and the files have Base64-encoded data appended to them.

According to SentinelOne researchers, this data is then decoded and used to download the next stage of the attack which implements the malware's functionality.

The malware is an information stealer that collects data from the Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, and Firefox browsers. The stolen data includes browsing history and other data.

Sophos said that the legitimate 3CX app had been abused by threat actors to also communicate with a number of command-and-control servers (C2).

“The software is a digitally signed version of the softphone desktop client for Windows and is packaged with a malicious payload. The most common post-exploitation activity observed to date is the spawning of an interactive command shell,” its report read.

“The attackers have managed to manipulate the application to add an installer which uses DLL sideloading to ultimately retrieve a malicious, encoded payload,” said Matt Gangwer, managed threat response at Sophos.

Sophos had confirmed in its alert that only Windows had been affected by this issue, while CrowdStrike researchers found that both macOS and Windows were affected.

“This is a classic supply chain attack, designed to exploit trust relationships between an organisation and external parties, this includes partnerships with vendors or the use of a third-party software which most businesses are reliant on in some way," said Lotem Finkelstein, director of threat intelligence and research at Check Point.

3CX claims to have more than 600,000 customers and serves companies like American Express, the NHS, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s.

“We are fully aware of the situation and our whole team is fully focused on finding a solution to this security issue,” a 3CX spokesperson told IT Pro. “We are extensively researching the matter in order to provide a more detailed response today.”

Businesses that want to host their own IP PBX should put 3CX’s Phone System 18 at the top of their list: it offers a stunning range of call-handling features at affordable prices. Licensing is based on the number of simultaneous calls, with a 16SC licence for the Enterprise version on review sufficient for up to 50 users, and costing £615 per year.

Phone System Enterprise enables everything 3CX has to offer, including web conferencing, call queues, call reports, recording services and integration with Facebook, WordPress and Microsoft 365, plus CRM and helpdesk solutions such as Salesforce and Zendesk. All three editions offer a 4SC version, which is free for the first year, with a Standard 4SC licence free forever.

On-premises platform support is outstanding. We virtualised 3CX on a Windows Server 2019 Hyper-V host; other options include Linux, VMware, KVM and Raspberry Pi, or you can cloud-host it on Google Cloud, Amazon or Microsoft Azure. 3CX’s own cloud- hosting service supports 32SC licences (120 users) and looks great value: the first year is free for all versions, and an Enterprise 16SC licence costs £300 for subsequent years.

On-premises installation is aided by a wizard that guided us through each step. To allow remote workers to access the system, we followed the 3CX online tutorial to create forwarding rules for SIP and RTP port ranges on our firewall and watched the integral firewall test give us a green light.

You’ll need to buy an SIP trunk separately; we used the excellent VoIP Unlimited service. The 3CX web portal did flag it as unsupported (as it does with many others), but it worked perfectly during testing.

Adding new users is a breeze. An email is sent to each one with details of their extension, a PIN number for voicemail, web links to their personal portal and a QR code to register the free iOS and Android mobile apps. Dishing up hardware phones is even easier: 3CX discovered our Yealink handsets when they came online, updated their firmware and pushed the designated user profile to them.

Outbound rules control outgoing calls, and you can assign up to five different SIP trunks as backups if the main one is unavailable. The phone numbers assigned to your SIP trunk are handed to each extension using inbound rules, and assigning one to the digital receptionist presents callers with custom messages and a menu of up to ten options. Call queues and ring groups ensure calls are never missed, and users can have incoming calls redirected to them when they’re at home.

Backup services are provided and can be run daily or weekly to secure the system configuration, call records and voicemail. We made good use of this when we tested migration from on-premises to 3CX cloud hosting. We selected our subscription from the customer portal, chose the “switch to hosted” option and pointed it at the latest backup, after which it took 15 minutes to load the new cloud instance. After importing our user extension list, we loaded the free Windows session border controller utility to keep our handsets working. The whole process took an hour.

3CX’s Phone System 18 is perfect for SMBs that want a flexible VoIP system they can manage themselves. Along with easy on-premises and cloud deployments, it provides a remarkable range of call-handling features and can’t be beaten for value.

Any business looking for an on-premises IP PBX needs to check out 3CX’s Phone System. It provides a remarkable range of features and terrific platform support, yet it’s very affordable.

There’s a variety of packages on offer, but all of them support an unlimited number of extensions and include all mobile apps. In fact, the standard service is free for the first year, which should give you more than ample opportunity to try it out.

After that, licensing is based on the number of simultaneous calls you want supported. Small businesses may get by with the free-forever 8SC version, which, as the name hints, handles up to eight calls at once; for mid-sized offices, the 16SC Pro package costs £554 per year. It’s recommended for up to 50 users, although that’s just a guideline.

All of the tiers provide a solid set of call-handling features, including inbound and outbound rules, call parking and videoconferencing. A digital receptionist presents custom messages and menus to ensure that callers reach the right person, while homeworkers can easily redirect calls to their mobiles. Meanwhile, web conferencing comes as standard these days.

If you pay for a Pro or Enterprise licence, you get additional access to call queues, call reports and recording services. There’s also tight integration with Microsoft 365, and a range of CRM and help desk solutions such as Salesforce and Zendesk.

Naturally, you’ll need to provide your own server hardware and handsets, and you’ll also need a SIP trunk. 3CX supports a huge range of providers: we used GoTrunk and dished out Yealink T58A handsets to our users.

As for the server, you have plenty of options – you can actually install Phone System on a Raspberry Pi if you wish. It will also run on a regular Windows or Linux server, or if you prefer the virtual approach you can run it in a VMware, Hyper-V or KVM host. You can even run it in the cloud, on Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and AWS – or take it easy and let 3CX host it for you. We chose to virtualise the system on a Windows Server 2019 Hyper-V host; the process wasn’t exactly speedy, but we followed the smart wizard and had everything up and running in under an hour.

Part of this involved setting up forwarding rules on our firewall, to allow remote extensions and mobile apps to connect to the PBX. This may sound complicated, but 3CX made it easy with detailed online tutorials and a helpful firewall checker tool.

Provisioning our Yealink phones was even easier, as the 3CX software spotted them as soon as they came online. All we had to do was assign extensions; 3CX then updated their firmware and they were ready for our users.

As you configure your users, each one receives an email advising them of their extension details, along with a PIN for voicemail access. For anyone who won’t be solely using a desktop phone, there’s a URL for accessing the web client, download links for the Windows softphone app and Chrome browser extension, and a QR code that can be used to instantly register the mobile app. The setup wizard creates an external fully qualified domain name (FQDN) and SSL certificate to enable remote users to connect securely over the internet.

3CX Phone System 16 is a top choice for SMBs that want to host an on-premises IP PBX. It’s a flexible and affordable solution that’s packed with call-handling features. It’s a good bet for the future too: a major OS upgrade is already being prepared for release, bringing improved performance and even more remote-working features.

Update six of 3CX Phone System v16 features not only a list of improvements, but a new “Hosted by 3CX” option that could prove transformative for some businesses. The first year of hosting is also available for free, allowing organisations to easily trial the benefits of the service.

3CX CEO Stefan Walther spoke to IT Pro about the company’s thinking behind Hosted by 3CX and some practical considerations regarding the use and implementation of the new service.

What problem is 3CX trying to solve by providing the hosting?

We’ve always been a channel-focused vendor, and that’s not about to change. Our new hosted solution will allow resellers to leave the dirty work of hosting, maintenance and updates to us while they focus on what they do best – selling to and supporting customers. With more and more companies in favour of cloud services for their businesses, it’s something that has been highly requested by our partners and now we’re happy to fill that demand.

Are you targeting any particular type of business? For example, by complexity or size?

Like anything 3CX, it works for any kind of business of any size. SME’s shouldn’t feel that 3CX is out of their league and similarly, larger enterprises can be confident that a Hosted by 3CX PBX is secure, reliable and will cater to their businesses’ communication needs. 3CX is flexible, with plans and hosting to suit all requirements and budget.

What are the key benefits to Hosted by 3CX?

We’ve always boasted about 3CX being a “zero admin” solution. And now with Hosted by 3CX it really is just that. A Hosted by 3CX solution eliminates OS admin, provides automatic updates and enhances businesses’ remote capabilities – we’ve made it extremely easy to set up and support remote teams. It will free up time usually spent on maintaining the PBX for both the end-user and reseller so that they can spend time and resources on more productive tasks. What’s more, it’s absolutely free for one year.

You say that you can “eliminate OS admin” but is that really possible? Surely business owners must need to do something?

When it comes to updates, maintenance and performance optimisation, no, they don’t need to do anything. We’ll take care of all that. Of course, end-users or their resellers still have control of their PBX so they are the ones that will configure, customize and set up new extensions.

How will Hosted by 3CX help businesses with remote workers?

I’ve already mentioned how Hosted by 3CX enhances businesses’ remote capabilities by making it extremely easy to set up and support remote teams and merge remote PBXs. But 3CX is great for businesses that employ remote workers as a whole. All that’s needed is to create their extension and set the necessary permissions. The user can then easily access the web client or quickly provision their smartphone with the 3CX app via QR code to use their extension just as if they were in the office.

Why is 2020 the right time for this product?

Unfortunately, for everyone, 2020 equals COVID-19. It’s had such a huge impact, particularly on the way businesses are run. Flexible working is not something new but now instead of just a perk, business owners are seeing it as a necessity. They need to remain agile. A Hosted by 3CX solution offers this. It can be set up in minutes remotely, run remotely, used remotely. And to make things even easier, we’re taking care of maintenance. This is also helping to take the pressure off of our resellers who have also been impacted by the events of 2020.

What should existing customers do if they want to take advantage?

Existing customers can get hosting free until the end of Q1 2021. It’s easy to switch, they just need to talk to their 3CX partner. If they don’t have a partner, they can find all the relevant documentation about migrating on our website. And migration is easy, they can simply login to the customer portal and select Switch to Hosted.

Are there any limitations people should note compared to other methods of implementing 3CX?

As of now, it’s not available in every country – but it will be soon. The Hosted by 3CX solution offers the same level of features, functionality, service, reliability and security that our other options do – just with added convenience. At the moment Hosted by 3CX is available for 24SC licences and offers 250MB backups for migrations.

What advice would you give a small business that’s still using conventional phone services but thinking about switching to VoIP for the first time?

Don’t sit on the fence too long. Change doesn’t have to be scary, and once you do make the switch you’ll soon start seeing the benefits. Cloud solutions are excellent, especially for small businesses that might not necessarily have the resources to implement or manage an on-premise solution. The future is in the cloud, so you’ll also be future-proofing your business. Make sure you choose a vendor that is transparent. So many advertise features such as video conferencing, voicemail, live chat, call centre… but these all come at a price as add-ons. Not so with 3CX.

What would you say to businesses that have been thinking about switching to 3CX for some time but have been put off until now?

Give us a try. Test out our free Standard Edition with free hosting – what do you have to lose? We’re confident in our product, which is why we offer the free edition perpetually. If you decide it’s not for you, that’s fine. There are no commitments.

The first year of hosting is free, but how much is going to cost after that point? Are we paying a premium for 3CX hosting the service instead of another supplier?

We’ll be announcing pricing shortly, but it is going to be competitive; customers won’t be paying more to host with us.

For businesses that are new to 3CX, what are the next steps to take if they’re interested?

They should try out the free version on our website and then get in touch with a reseller who will be able to assess their needs and discuss options to tailor a solution for them. All of our approved resellers are listed on our website, so they can easily find one in their area.

Try 3CX free for one year

The typical call centre setup – long rows of desks populated with dozens of people in close proximity for hours – has been made impossible by social distancing regulations. So how can a business provide the same levels of customer service when its employees are working from home – not to mention companies hoping to launch a dedicated call centre to boost their customer service?

There is a solution. By switching to a modern phone system based on unified communications, distributed teams are able to handle sales calls, support queries and build customer relationships in a way that a traditional phone setup could never match.

Think like a call centre

A typical business uses a reactive setup. When a call comes in, often to a direct line, someone answers. If a business is lucky, the customer speaks to the right person. Their needs are met, their records updated and everyone walks away happy. Often, though, that call comes in and is never answered, or goes to voicemail, or they simply speak to someone who can’t help and are told that they will get a call back.

Now consider how a call centre “thinks”. Geared towards the needs of the business’ consumers, it will work no matter who answers the call. At any one time, the manager will know how many calls are waiting – that is, how many customers are waiting – and have access to key data and trends, showing where they need to make investment.

Then there’s call reporting. Knowing how well call centre agents perform is vital. Whether they’re slacking and other agents are doing all the work, or they’re performing exceptionally well and deserve a reward, having detailed data is crucial for their development. And the only way to gain this valuable insight is by exporting call reports and analysing the data.

It’s also important to know how well agents work as a team. If a customer receives a poor level of service they won’t blame the agents, they’ll blame the company.

Thanks to 3CX, these tools are now within reach of any business, no matter what its size.

Never miss a call

Waiting on the line can be frustrating. Little wonder that many people give up, potentially losing a sale or simply leaving a bad taste in the mouth of a valuable existing customer. This is one of the reasons that proprietary PBX systems with call-centre functionality used to be so expensive (not to mention difficult to set up). 3CX PRO resolves this through intuitive call centre management that minimises wait times and provides a callback facility for anyone who doesn’t want to stay in the queue.

While these are the obvious advantages to the customer, there are similarly compelling reasons for business owners. For instance, users can view an integrated Wallboard to monitor real-time calls, access detailed reports (including user activity, average talking time and wait times) and call in extra resources to cover peak times.

Turn website visitors into customers

While the number of website visitors may be a statistic to admire (or otherwise), each visitor can also be turned into an opportunity. After all, if they’ve taken the time and trouble to visit a page on a company’s website then there’s every chance they’re interested in the products or services it provides.

Website chat needn’t be invasive. The best approach may be to simply integrate a “let’s chat” widget into the bottom right of the website, and let the visitor do all the talking. Agents can take a more direct approach and, having assisted the customer, can proceed to offer further assistance, advice or even make value-added sales. 3CX makes it easy thanks to its 3CX Live Chat & Talk plugin, which allows users to quickly and easily add live chat support to a WordPress website. (It’s available for any CMS or custom-built site, too.)

This plugin neatly connects with the 3CX Phone System. It means that customers can chat to a member of staff online, who can then quickly escalate that to a phone call (and hopefully a sale) when the time is right. Furthermore, customer chats appear in the 3CX Web Client, so agents are able to keep all communications on the same, single platform.

Integrate with a CRM

If a business has already made an investment into a CRM system then 3CX is ready to help. Head to the 3CX website for guides to integrate systems such as Salesforce, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Dynamics and many more – all integration is done by the 3CX administrator, with no plugins or manual configuration required by users.

With this in place, inbound calls are automatically linked to the customer record, which appears on the employee's screen. Making a call to customers is just as easy – launch calls with a single click from the browser or app (3CX provides free apps for both iOS and Android). It’s also quick and easy to log interactions.

The end result is happier customers and more efficient employees. And, crucially, it works just as easily from a home office as a traditional call centre.

To get 3CX free for one year, visit www.3cx.com

Moving to an on-premises IP PBX might not be everyone’s idea of fun, but 3CX’s Phone System makes it as painless as possible. The installation procedure is kept simple, the feature set will satisfy everything on your wish list, and flexible licensing plans allow you to choose a version that’s suitable for your needs and budget.

The software is versatile too. It supports both Windows and Linux, and will run on a standard PC or server, or in a virtual machine under VMware, Hyper-V or KVM. You can even cloud-host it on Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS/Lightsail or OVH.

For our host we chose a low-cost HPE ProLiant ML110 Gen10 tower server running Windows Server 2019. Deployment was handled by a smart wizard, which guided us through the steps required to get our IP PBX ready for action, including creating an external domain name and setting up an SSL certificate – which 3CX will helpfully host for you – to allow remote users to connect securely.

Perhaps the trickiest part of setup is opening up the SIP and RTP port ranges on your firewall. This is one thing the wizard can’t do for you, but 3CX provides a great online tutorial, and the System’s web console includes a firewall tester to confirm that all required ports are reachable.

The other thing you’ll need to organise yourself is a SIP trunk. 3CX is compatible with a huge number of providers around the world, and you can configure up to five different services to ensure you’re never left in the lurch. For our tests, we used GoTrunk, which came with clear, step-by-step setup instructions for 3CX Phone System. These helped us get the service working in no time – although we subsequently had to live with a slightly annoying red icon appearing permanently on the dashboard, informing us that our chosen provider isn’t officially approved by 3CX.

The phone numbers assigned by your SIP trunk provider can be directed to extensions using inbound rules and, if you have a Pro licence, you can also set up call queues, reports and recording services, along with Office 365 and CRM integration. When you create a new extension, the appropriate person is automatically sent an email with their new phone details, along with a voicemail number and PIN. A link and login details for the web client are also provided, and there’s a call-manager extension for Chrome, which can be left running in the background even if the browser itself isn’t open.

Handset provisioning is deftly handled too. As soon as our Yealink phones were connected to the network, they appeared in the web console, ready to be assigned to users, and the 3CX software thoughtfully updated their firmware for us.

On top of all this, there’s an impressive set of advanced call-handling features. The digital receptionist option presents callers with custom messages and a menu of up to ten options, while call queues and ring groups ensure calls are always answered, users on the road can have calls redirected to their mobile or another extension and web-conferencing services come as standard.

Pricing depends on whether you want a basic licence or all the Pro features, and on how many channels you want supported: a 16SC Pro licence supports up to 16 simultaneous calls, so it should be good for around 50 users. It costs £554 per year, but if you don’t renew the maintenance contract when it expires, it drops down to an 8SC version, which is free forever, including all updates.

With easy deployment, plenty of call features and pricing to suit organisations of all sizes, 3CX Phone System is very hard to fault: we’d happily recommend it to any small business looking for an onsite IP PBX.

Open standards communications solution 3CX offers a host of call features – as well as pricing to suit organisations of all sizes.

And those features just keep on growing in number. As anyone who already uses 3CX will know, the company is constantly listening to its users – whether that’s implementing customer requests or tweaking existing functionality. Often, though, the biggest changes come as it spots a new opportunity.

Here, we explore just a few of the new features rolled out in the past few months for 3CX v16, and find out how web chat can enhance your business:

1. New 3CX Android app

The 3CX Android app always allowed you to bring your office communications with you wherever you go, whether that’s accessing the company phone book or making calls. Now, 3CX has made two big enhancements to make the app even more powerful.

The first is video calls – you can now call any of your colleagues and then tap on the video icon to instantly switch to a video call for a face-to-face conversation.

The second is that you can now save time with instant responses to messages during IM chats. So, rather than typing out a reply, you’ll find tappable pre-created responses (such as 'Great!'), depending on the context.

In addition, 3CX has made numerous tweaks to improve your calling experience. Whether that’s adding frequently contacted colleagues to a 'Favourites' list or alerting you with a discreet beep when incoming calls arrive during a chat, if you’re a 3CX user who doesn’t have the latest version of the Android app installed, you’re missing out. Head to the Google Play store to find it.

2. New 'Swift' 3CX iOS app

The 3CX app for iOS has been rewritten in Swift from scratch. Why? In part because Apple’s new programming language for developing iOS applications is easier to read and maintain, in part because it’s fast!

A simplified layout makes it easy to take advantage of the new features. For example, a 'New call' button allows users to make a call even when on an active call, while the Conference button makes three-way calls more straightforward.

The new iOS app also takes advantage of the tunnel encryption available in 3CX v16 to provide end-to-end secure communications straight out of the box. Whether you’re on your own wireless network or connecting via 4G, you simply access your extension securely with the new app. There’s even an onscreen padlock to let you know your call is encrypted.

And if you hit a rough patch of coverage and suffer a dropped call? No problem – the app will instantly reconnect you when you’re back online.

3. Google Storage Buckets

Looking a little further ahead, 3CX Update 5 will include a bucketload (pun very much intended) of features. Top of the list comes Google Storage Buckets, which will make life even simpler for 3CX users who choose Google’s Cloud Platform for hosting. You’ll now be able to quickly store backups and archive recordings to a 'bucket' via a simple dropdown menu.

4. Personalise your audio

You can now personalise audio preferences in the web client and Chrome extension. By setting different devices to the 'Speaker' and 'Ringer' options using the 3CX Settings page, you can hear incoming calls and listen to call audio on separate speakers or headsets.

5. New Chrome extension

A December update to 3CX’s popular Chrome extension – which you can find by heading to the Chrome Web Store and then searching for '3CX' – brought two handy enhancements. Perhaps the biggest is that users can now get alerts for calls via pop-ups even if the browser is minimised or closed – meaning there’s no excuse for missing that call.

In addition, if you’re browsing the web and come across a number, you can jump in and launch a call directly from the window you’re in. It’s all part of 3CX’s aim of making communications simple and seamless, no matter where you are or what type of device you’re using.

6. All-new Edge support

3CX has been quick to support the all-new Microsoft Edge browser, which is powered by Chromium. Head to the Microsoft Edge Addons store and you can download the official 3CX extension for Edge.

This gives you nonstop, immediate access to make and receive calls with a mini, pop-out web client. It means you can keep your browser free for other apps and projects and work more efficiently. You can also check the status of your colleagues and, as the extension is fully integrated, it works flawlessly with your CRM so that incoming caller IDs are matched and call history can be logged.

Download 3CX for free

If there's one thing you should know about 3CX, it's that the company never stands still. Its award-winning PBX is always being updated to make it easier to use from an end user's point of view, to make it simpler to deploy and administer, and to add more of the features its users request. Even in the past few months, it's produced a cluster of updates, and we reveal just a handful of them here.

Free iOS app with beefed-up chat

Owners of iPhones and iPads should fire up the new iOS app, complete with even more chat features. For example, you can chat directly with website visitors direct from your phone, create and name group chats direct from your phone, and archive chats to get rid of unwanted clutter! The new app also offers pure IPv6 data connections over 4G, while new, secure tunnel encryption support means you can guard against eavesdroppers and malicious operators.

Free Android app with enhanced UI

Fear not Android fans: by the time you read these words the new Android app may have already landed in the Play Store, with the final nips and tucks currently being applied to the beta version. You'll enjoy a new flexible UI, making it easy to access 3CX's extended feature set; secure calls by default thanks to 3CX V16's encryption technology (there's even a padlock to show it's a secure call); and if your call drops out, the new app will automatically attempt to reconnect you when you get back into range.

Check 3CX WebMeeting's status wherever you are

WebMeeting is one of 3CX's best features, allowing anyone to create and join a video conference wherever they are. With servers all around the world, and over 100,000 web conferencing sessions each month, there are occasional, inevitable technical issues - and now WebMeeting users can see a bird's eye view of each server's availability by visiting status.3cx.net and hovering over the relevant green dot. You can even choose which server to connect to from the web client when scheduling a new video conference: simply click on the spanner button and manually set the "Meeting Location".

Deploy 3CX in Google Cloud...

In June, 3CX became an official Google Marketplace Partner. This is far more than a badge of honour: it means you can easily deploy 3CX through Google Marketplace directly into your Google Cloud account, bypassing the additional steps you'd normally need. There's no extra charge, meaning you can take advantage of all 3CX's free models if you choose. And if you're new to Google Cloud, you can even use its free trial. Head here for more information.

... or deploy 3CX in Amazon AWS Marketplace...

3CX has also just become available as a pre-configured solution on the AWS marketplace. It's now as simple as these three steps: first, set instant options; two, deploy; three, configure the PBX. We said it was easy! For more details, head here.

...or straight from the Azure Marketplace

To complete its exhaustive cloud credentials, fans of Microsoft Azure can now deploy 3CX PBX straight from their Azure account. Naturally, it's totally free, and all you need is an Azure Marketplace account (and a 3CX licence). To find out more, click here.

Improved remote control

It's now even easier to take remote control of a WebMeeting participant's PC - with their permission, of course! They receive a link to quickly install and activate the Remote Control client app, all in one step, and then you can take advantage of numerous new features. For example, there's a bidrectional text clipboard, you can share any screen (not just the main one), it's fully compatible with limited-privilee users and you can even record the sessions. For more info, head here.

Shiny new Call Flow Designer

3CX has updated its Call Flow Designer (CFD) to make it more usable than ever. Taking prime position is the radical new drag-and-drop Expression Editor, which means it's never been easier to create a call flow. It's also easy to find the different functions as they're grouped into easy to reference categories, while a new transfer component gives you a way to seamlessly move callers to a particular extension. Find out more here.

Customised website chat

July saw the release of V16 Update 2, which included a milestone upgrade to the 3CX SBC (Session Border Controller) along with an updated quick reference guide for new users. But 3CX also took the opportunity to improve its web chat offering, with the 3CX Live Chat and Talk tool allowing agents to override the "queue ownership", meaning they can enable video and phone calls for the visitor irrespective of the conversation ownership status. Visitors also receive an audio notification when they receive a chat message, and you can now show or hide the chat panel for visitors on mobile devices. Head here for more information.

Thanks to a midsummer update, it's now even simpler for businesses that run 3CX software to both solve problems for their staff and to run on-screen demonstrations.

3CX WebMeeting has received a midsummer update that makes it even easier to use

It's all thanks to an expanded remote control offering that makes it simplicity itself to turn a web meeting into a support session, complete with easy file transfers. There's only one requirement: both users must be running Windows 7 (64-bit) or above.

Beauty in simplicity

The key to this new implementation is its simplicity. There's no lengthy install process, no complicated component setup and no configuration. Simply fire up 3CX WebMeeting and send a request to remotely control any participant's PC.

Need to take control of someone's PC? This feature is now just one click away

At this point, the participant can choose to ignore the request or accept it by clicking Yes on the "allow Remote Control" prompt. They then install and activate the Remote Control client app and allow their PC to be remotely controlled. It's all done within minutes!

While it's easy to transfer files between participants in a meeting (see below), sometimes you just want to copy and paste text between the organiser and the person whose PC is being controlled. That's why the client app has a built-in and bidirectional text clipboard.

Another improvement is for multi-monitor setups. It's now possible for the organiser to select which one to remotely control, and switch to a different one at any point.

Extended security

Naturally, security must be a priority when sharing information over a remote connection. At its simplest level, the participant always has control: they can terminate the remote control session themselves at any time by clicking on the blue Remote Control icon.

Unlike some other remote control systems, 3CX also provides full compatibility with the Windows security framework, User Account Control (UAC) and the "Run as administrator" option. Plus, it's fully compatible with limited-privilege users to simplify deployments in secure and locked-down network environments.

Video and exchanging files

You can now drag and drop files straight into the Meeting Chat panel

Often, you'll want a permanent record of a session, particularly if you were giving a software demonstration and want to share it as an asset. Doing so is simple: just hit the "Record" button to capture your remote control session, and all participants will receive a link to the video at the end of the meeting.

And it's now equally as simple to share files up to 64MB between meeting participants: you can drag and drop any file directly into the Meeting Chat panel or click the "File upload" icon and select a file to share.

As before, security is paramount, which is why files are only kept temporarily. To be precise, they're kept on secure 3CX servers for the duration of the meeting and then deleted. Whilst the call is live, though, participants can click on shared files to open and save them on their PCs.

What else is new?

The enhanced remote control comes as part of 3CX v16's second big update (Update 2), but that's not all that's new.

If you've integrated 3CX Live Chat and Talk into your website, then you'll notice a number of enhancements. One of the biggest is an option to show or hide the chat panel if people are visiting your site on their phone or tablet. Visitors now also receive an audible notification when they receive a message (except in the Safari browser on Apple iOS).

There are improvements for your support team, too, with greater control over the size of the chat panel and offline form. As ever, these are easy-to-install updates to the software, whether you run 3CX on Windows, Linux or in the cloud.

Top tips for a successful web meeting

While using 3CX ensures the technological side of web meetings go smoothly, there are lots of things that can make it awkward for attendees and organisers. Follow these top tips to make sure everyone emerges happily at the end.

Tips for organisers

• It's obvious, but if this meeting is for employees then you should treat their time as a precious commodity - exactly as you would for a physical meeting. So work out what you want to achieve, who you need to invite (especially consider if they need to be there the whole time) and set a clear agenda.
• Make sure you keep all your source material within easy reach. If you're using digital resources (eg a PowerPoint file), put them in one place so they're easy to find when necessary.
• If you'll be sharing your screen, look out for distracting or embarrassing documents! Clean up your desktop, remove that background image of your holiday in Magaluf, and switch off notifications - both from Windows and your mail client.
• 3CX WebMeeting makes it easy to quickly run polls during a meeting, which is both a great way to gain feedback on an idea but also to keep your audience engaged. You can then share the results in the meeting itself.
• Encourage people to use the 3CX WebMeeting "Reactions" options during the meeting, whether that's with a raised hand, a tick to agree, a cross to disagree or one of the many other options - Like, Dislike, Idea and Question, to name but four.

Tips for good audio

• Use a headset. It's the best way to ensure that no echo or feedback can be heard during your web meeting.
• If you can't use a headset, place your microphone well away from your speakers to avoid the horrible echo/feedback effect.
• Choose as quiet an environment as you can find. If noise is unavoidable, keep clicking on the mute button when you aren't talking.

Tips for good video

• Good lighting is paramount. But don't fall into the mistake of putting a light source behind you, as you will appear very dark in your camera feed. Instead, position the light source in front of you if you can.
• Position your webcam at eye level, or at the top of the screen you will be mainly looking at during the web meeting.
• Centre your preview on your mouth. Participants are interested in what you're saying, not your office ceiling.
• If you need to refer to documents during the call, put them near the top of your screen to simulate eye contact.
• Avoid wearing patterned clothing as patterns can look fuzzy on the viewer's screen.
• Be mindful of your background. If too much is happening (eg people walking around or a detailed poster) then your viewers may be distracted from what you're saying.

Download 3CX for free at www.3cx.com

With v16 of 3CX, the company didn't just introduce a bunch of new features - it also introduced a pricing structure that cut the costs by up to 66%. In fact, many smaller businesses can happily run a 3CX PBX without spending a penny on licence fees.

New, lower prices

Here's how 3CX's charging structure works. Unlike rivals, who may charge you a fixed fee per user or for call centre features, it charges based on how many simultaneous calls (SC) you need. Typically, that translates into 3-4 end users per SC, so a 25-seat company should get along fine with an 8SC licence. And that's free.

In fact, for the first year, the standard licence is completely free no matter how many simultaneous calls you require. It's only after 12 months (by which point you should know exactly how many SCs you require) that you need to pay. What's more, with version 16 3CX has introduced a number of new licence sizes to make this easier: you can now choose from 4SC, 8SC, 16SC, 32SC, 64SC, 96SC, 128SC, 192SC, 256SC, 512SC and 1024SC.

The standard licence includes all core PBX features

Once you've settled on the number of SCs you need, you can choose from 3CX's simple three-tier structure. We've summarised it in the table below so you can see what's included at a glance, but head to 3CX's website for full details.

The key thing to understand is that the Standard licence includes all the core PBX features. As you can see from the table, that includes unlimited extensions, voicemail and free use of the 3CX iOS and Android apps. However, there are many more options, such as real-time system status, compatibility with VMs and your choice of SIP trunk.

3CX realises that businesses won't know which features they need until they try them in real life, which is why it allows you to try the Pro plan for 40 days without charge. There's no sneaky fee at the end of that term: your plan is simply returned to Standard for the rest of your first, totally free year.

Direct savings

A glance at the table shows that you aren't simply buying a replacement phone system: this is a unified comms system of the type that used to cost enterprises hundreds of thousands of pounds. As such, the real savings come when you implement it in a way that supports your business, solves problems for your employees and cuts real costs.

Some of those are direct, obvious savings. For example, if your business includes teleworkers, travelling salespeople or branch offices, then it may be costing you money simply for employees to make internal calls. With 3CX, anyone armed with a smartphone and network connection can directly call anyone else in the business for free.

Then two other features come into play. First, presence information. You'll be familiar with the basics: a green dot indicates someone is available, a red dot shows when they aren't. But often people forget to set these when they're heading to a meeting - because 3CX v16 fully integrates with Office 365, for example, your status will automatically change based on any scheduled meetings.

The second feature? Your employees can use the best form of communication to hand, with video calls, instant messaging and good old-fashioned phone calls all available. And all at no extra charge.

For another example of how 3CX users can cut costs, consider how many fixed telephony lines you currently have installed. Because 3CX works on the basis of simultaneous calls rather than end users, there's no need to pay for extra capacity that you never use. That's one of the reasons why 3CX can so boldly claim that it can cut your costs in half: if you're switching from a conventional PBX system, your overheads can be massively reduced.

Clever savings

Of course, some calls have to leave the network to reach users on carriers like BT, which connect the calls to ordinary phones or mobile phones. Calls with these destinations cost money, so 3CX employs least-cost routing: a set of mathematical algorithms to automatically select the cheapest route for all outgoing calls.

There are no extra charges for videoconferencing and you can include up to 25 users

This works because 3CX chooses which path on the data network the call should take, and then at what point the call should join the PSTN. At this point, it selects the cheapest carrier, so that the user pays the lowest possible cost.

How can it be sure you're paying the lowest prices? Because the system continuously receives call charge information from multiple trunks and frequently updates its database using the latest call charge information. In this way, it can calculate the cost of a given call at a given time with a specific destination.

Take control of your costs

3CX gives you control over how you install its system. Perhaps you'd like to take control and install it on-premise. No problem: you don't even need expensive hardware, as v16 even runs on a Raspberry Pi! And it's just as happy to run on a Windows or Linux-based device.

Alternatively, you may prefer to install 3CX on Google Cloud, Amazon Lightsail or Microsoft Azure. Using 3CX's PBX Express setup tool, you can have the system running in minutes - with the added benefit that it's incredibly easy to scale to match your business growth.

The point is this: how you install 3CX is up to you. Perhaps you'd prefer to work with a local 3CX partner, who will then create a solution based on your business needs. Perhaps you have a favoured SIP trunk provider that you would like to work with. It's your choice.

Five easy ways 3CX v16 saves you money

No need for deskphones: run 3CX on your PC, tablet or phone

While 3CX is compatible with all the major SIP hardphones, you don't need one: just run 3CX on your PC, tablet or smartphone. Want to keep on using your existing phones? No problem: plug in an ATA adapter and it will appear to 3CX as a regular SIP phone.

No cost for internal calls

It doesn't matter if your 3CX PBX is for one physical office or 50: as far as 3CX is concerned, every call to another number on your network is internal and free of charge.

Free video conferencing

There are no extra charges for video conferencing. Even on the free Standard 8SC plan, you can hold a video conference with 25 users!

Free calls from smartphones over Wi-Fi

If you have a network connection, and the (free) 3CX Android or iOS app installed, then you can make free calls to anyone else on the network. (And even if you need to make "external" calls, you'll pay the lowest prices 3CX can find.)

The right licence for your needs

With v16, 3CX has introduced four new licence sizes - 24SC, 48SC, 96SC and 192SC - so you only pay for what you need.

Download 3CX for free at www.3cx.com.

1 Hardened security

There's strength in unity: an attacker will pick off easy, isolated prey rather than attack a herd protected by experienced leaders. That's exactly 3CX's thinking behind the hardened security in 3CX v16, as it enables more experienced members to notify and protect the 3CX herd. In practice, this means that when an attacker's IP is blacklisted by an experienced member, it will automatically be blacklisted for other 3CX systems.

That's not all. Due to 3CX's global install base, it will be aware of any security vulnerabilities, hacks and exploits as soon as they appear - wherever in the world. 3CX v16 uses this collective experience via a built-in Security Advisor that monitors the security of your extensions.

There are a number of other security enhancements in 3CX v16 too. The Management Console includes a new Restrictions tab that restricts connectivity to a specified list of IPs, minimising its exposure to outsiders. It also blocks the common attack of "scanning and footprinting" for vulnerable systems, while inheriting all the security genes from its updated under-the-hood components - for example, boosting OpenSSL to 1.0.2o, the latest security-fix release.

2 Lean and mean on Raspberry Pi

You can now run a full 3CX PBX on a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+

Always keen to set itself new challenges, 3CX decided it would make v16 not only the leanest, meanest yet - but to make it deployable on a Raspberry Pi. For the first time, you can run a full 3CX PBX on the credit-card-sized Raspberry Pi 3 Model B +.

And the Pi pulls off the feat with flying colours. Thanks to its optimised code, CPU consumption averages at around 24% under load with memory consumption at 38% average. And while the average server consumes 20.4kWh daily, that's how much a Pi-based system consumes in a whole year! Interested in trying it out for yourself? Visit 3cx.com/blog/docs/raspberry-pi-pbx.

3 Dial-in feature for 3CX WebMeeting

As workforces become ever more mobile, dialling in may be the only way they can join video meetings. With 3CX v16, people on the move can join a WebMeeting via a traditional call anywhere, any time. How does it work? An updated "Invite Participants" page includes "dial-in" numbers as well as the conference ID, which is emailed in the usual way. Then your user simply needs to call the number and enter the ID. And that's it: they're on the call.

4 User-configurable BLF function keys

3CX is always listening, and one of the most requested features was for users to configure their own BLFs (busy lamp fields) from their own web client rather than relying on administrators. And with 3CX v16, it's here! End users can now manage and reposition their BLFs via the client, and then reboot the desk phone to activate them.

5 Keep in sync with Office 365

As staff leave and new staff arrive, including temps, it can be a real hassle to keep one system updated - never mind two. Fortunately, 3CX v16 is here to lighten your load: it can now monitor your Office 365 account and automatically create new extensions for new Office 365 users you create (if you so wish). It can also delete extensions when Office 365 users are deleted, and update extension details when their information is updated on Office 365.

And it isn't just IT staff that benefit. They no longer need to keep a 3CX phonebook updated together with an Office 365 contacts list, as they're automatically kept in sync. So they can just open the 3CX app on their phone and dial. Another plus? Users no longer need to switch their status when they're aware: 3CX can automatically adjust your extension status and forwarding profile based on your Office 365 calendar.

6 Live website chat

Visitors to your website can just press a button to instantly call an agent

If you run your company's website, then 3CX v16 has a real treat in store: install the new "3CX Live Chat and Talk" plugin and your visitors can literally talk to your operatives at the press of a button. Based on the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid), the aim is take make the customer's experience as smooth as possible: when visitors arrive on the site, they can click on the Audio or Video call buttons to talk, so no need to install annoying applets or dial any numbers.

7 Enhanced integration with CRM systems

If your CRM system uses Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL or MongoDB databases, then take note: 3CX v16 fully integrates with them, providing a bunch of valuable features in one fell swoop. For instance, 3CX v16 PBX can automatically create new database contacts for incoming calls received from unknown numbers. And if they're recognised numbers, it can lookup the database contacts and synchronise contacts to 3CX Contact for your quick reference.

That means when someone calls in the 3CX Web Client, your users will see the caller's contact/customer record. And when the call is finished, all the details are automatically logged to your database for reference and reporting.

8 Plugin-free screen sharing on Chrome

It's as simple as it sounds. You no need to install the 3CX Click2Call plugin if you want to share your screen during a call. Just click, select and share!

9 Share your webinars on your website

The new 3CX Webinars plugin for WordPress makes it ridiculously easy to share webinars, meaning that people from around the world can subscribe to, get notified and attend your webinars. You can even offer specific online "classrooms" for your registered users.

10 Manage multiple 3CX installs

3CX v16 introduces an Instance Manager to help 3CX authorised resellers to securely and transparently monitor and manage 3CX installs on Linux hosts. Naturally, this is 100% optional, and you keep full control of what information is shared and managed.

11 Speed and security upgrades

Thanks to built-in support for HTTPS/2, connections will be both more secure and faster - but you still have backwards compatibility with clients and devices that don't support the standard.

12 Simplified setup

Already created DIDs in SIP trunks? An improved extension import function means you can import these via a CSV in one simple step.

13 Pop-out Switchboard

Along with the ability for users to update their BLFs (see item 4), 3CX has updated its web client to include a pop-out Switchboard view to monitor and manage All Calls and Queue Calls. Great news for managers, who can also check info and stats for all calls.

14 Off-site archiving

Don't clutter up your PBX with old recordings. 3CX v16 introduces off-site archiving, filtering and purging for your call Recordings. Now you can upload them to Google Drive or an FTP server by enabling the Remote Archiving feature.

15 Improved Call Flows

Coming soon! 3CX's updated Call Flow Designer is due to arrive with Update 1 of v16, and will mean call flow apps no longer require a custom queue. Instead, they'll be launched as soon you receive an inbound queue, while a more powerful API adds yet more features. Head to pcpro.link/3cxflow for more.

16 Even lower prices

Just for good measure, 3CX has also slashed the price of 3CX - reductions are up to 66% compared to v15. The 4SC (simultaneous calls) and 8SC licences are free perpetually, while Standard Edition licences are free for all of the first year.

It's hard to get accurate advice on which IP phone to buy. There are plenty of advice articles on the internet, but they're often vague and it's not always clear whether they're simply there to make you buy the most expensive phone. To dig beneath the details, we spoke to Nicolas Borg, product manager for 3CX and a veteran of many VoIP systems in businesses.

While some of his advice is specific to 3CX, a lot of it applies to anyone considering an IP phone. And as will become clear, he's just as keen for you to buy the right phone for your VoIP system as you will be.

SIP phones vs IP phones

First things first: what, we asked Nicolas, was the difference between SIP and IP phones. Or was that a stupid question? "It's not a stupid question! Yes, all SIP phones are IP phones, but you need to understand that there are many different VoIP protocols out there. They're like languages. So, when you're buying a SIP phone, you're buying a phone that can talk in SIP language and because 3CX has chosen SIP, you need to make sure that your chosen IP phone speaks SIP."

Do you need a hardware phone at all?

Surely, we suggested, people can get away with softphones? Isn't that why 3CX puts so much effort into the apps for Android and iOS phones? "Some people want a phone. They want to pick it up to answer it, they want to dial the numbers," said Borg. "I would reverse the question and look at it from the point of view of an administrator or the users themselves."

Borg cited the example of a 24/7 call centre where people will be sharing desks: you need to not only have a hardware phone, but make sure it supports hotdesking. Contrast that to a delivery service: "So, this guy is always in a truck or van. I would make sure I give him an app on a phone. It depends on the nature of your work and what you want from your apparatus."

Match the user's needs to the phone

This raises a wider point the need to match the phone to the specific user's requirements. If you start hunting for an IP phone, you'll be bombarded with features: colour screens; multi-way voice conferencing; dual Gigabit ports; Power-over-Ethernet (PoE); wireless versus wired; support for a dozen lines and multiple SIP accounts; HD audio; video. How do you choose what's right for your business?

"First of all, try not to buy too many different types of phones. Certainly buy phones from the same manufacturer, if you can," said Borg. "That's because administration of phones in today's world is extremely important, and often neglected. A phone is a living entity on my network. This thing can be compromised. You can have man-in-the-middle attacks, you can have eavesdropping. You need to keep this phone up to date. So maintaining many different types of phones is asking for trouble."

That doesn't mean buying one phone and giving it to every single person in the business. But it does mean that all people doing a similar type of job should have the same phone. For example, executives will benefit from a compact phone with few buttons but a clear LCD that shows them who's calling, but if you're outfitting a sales floor then you may not need an LCD at all. You might also choose PoE for flexibility of seating and to save on running costs. Take the time to understand the benefit of each feature and match it to the user case.

"Take the example of a busy guy, focusing on his work it would be good to alert him with an audio cue that says whether it's a sales call or a technical call. If for example it says tweet tweet tweet', that's his sales cue. He knows what kind of call is coming in and can prepare for it. That's how you need to think about features. How can you make your staff more productive, more efficient?"

Choosing an executive's phone

So what about specific examples: an executive may want a flashier phone than others in the office, but is there really any argument for this other than status? "The executive is on top of the chain," said Borg. "You don't want to waste his or her time with speculative calls, so you filter them. The CEO might assign a pool or people to be his first barrier, and they'll need to know exactly who's calling."

Borg points out they will also need the highest-quality audio and support for multi-way audio conferencing, and while they may not yet make video calls this is now an ever-present feature on executive-level phones. "Also, executive phones are more compact and have fewer buttons, as opposed to receptionist's phones, which would have more buttons, more lights blinking, more statuses, more notifications." Talking of which...

Choosing a receptionist's phone

"Normally, a receptionist's phone needs to be pretty pumped up," enthused Borg. "There are some receptionists who have enormous amounts of calls to make." As such, they need a way to handle all those calls and to make sure they don't transfer a call to someone who's already busy. A key weapon to handle this is a sidecar.

"If you have a company with 500 people in it, how can the receptionist see if someone's already on a call? A busy lamp field (BLF) helps, but a normal phone only has maybe seven keys or, if it's digital, you can swap between pages and get about 40. But beyond that you need more. Attach a sidecar, even two sidecars, four sidecars, and these will extend your lamps from tens to hundreds."

That doesn't mean you need to cram in features, though video probably isn't necessary, or five-way audio conferences.

Hotdesking

One of the biggest advantages of some IP phones is that users can log into them in the same way they do their computer. That's perfect for an office based on hotdesking or that operates 24/7 in shifts. "Let's say you come in at 8am," said Borg. "The phone on your desk is in neutral' mode, but once you enter your username and password, it becomes your phone. All your caller ID. All your logging. Your shortcuts. It's time for you to go home? Log out of the phone and everything is cleared. The next person is in, they have a fresh phone. That's extremely popular in call centres."

This isn't some cleverness on the part of the phone, Borg explains. "It's because the IT team has set up your profile, just like they do on your workstation. You can make incredible cost savings."

Saving costs

Which brings us to the thorny matter of paying for all of this. Let's say you've asked for a quote for phones and it's come in too high 20% above budget. How do you choose where to make your savings? And where shouldn't you compromise? "The first thing I ask our customers is What do you have now?' because what you own already can sometimes be reused," said Borg. "Don't forget, 3CX also works on a lot of legacy phones, and sometimes you only need a phone to make and take calls.

Don't be afraid to strip to the minimum feature set either. "Many small businesses don't need all these fancy features. It's just enough to hold and resume. You don't need to make a three-way audio conference, you can live without headset integration."

The cost savings don't end there. "There are things that can really cut costs. For example, look at screen size and the size of the phone. Perhaps your users want smaller phones, a smaller display. Perhaps monochrome is fine. I've been using a monochrome display on my phone and it's pretty clear I have my message indicator, my caller ID coming in, I can see everything.

"You can cut costs on energy, too. Why buy phones with a power supply when you can use PoE? It might be more expensive now, but in the long run, it will save you money. And, similarly, look for phones that can save energy. As the admin, I don't want 500 phones with bright displays that never dim."

Buying a phone specifically for 3CX Phone System

Head to www.3cx.com/sip-phones and you'll see a long list of SIP phones that 3CX recommends for its system. Is it a problem if you choose different ones? "Yes, that's going to be a problem! 3CX and the phones are in an intimate relationship it takes two to tango. We've actually seen cases where the PBX malfunctions because of unsupported phones."

So why does it matter so much? "It's a matter of language. Let's say you buy a phone designed for a proprietary PBX. How can it understand what 3CX is saying to it?"

3CX also works hard to ensure that all the phones it recommends are secure from the latest threats and work with any updates to the 3CX Phone System. "There's a guarantee behind that list that trained staff are checking firmware updates, checking for vulnerabilities, checking how well the phone behaves, to give you the best user experience."

You can also rest assured that, if a problem is found, 3CX will be in direct contact with the phone manufacturer to fix it. "I have a relationship with the manufacturers on that list. I can go and tell them, There's a problem, an LDP doesn't work, it's crashing this customer. We have to do something about it.' And you see the fixes come in the next update. If your phone isn't on that list, we can't support it. We don't have the phone, we can't test it, and who is going to update the firmware to fix the problem? We don't have the relationship so we can't fix it.

There are dozens of reasons why businesses of every size should employ a digital receptionist. To provide an easier way to triage calls, rather than relying on a human. To save time for incoming callers. To save time for your staff, particularly the poor soul who has to handle all incoming calls.

This comes with a huge caveat: your digital receptionist must be set up with thought and care. It should allow you to deal with simple queries immediately - not only saving the caller time, but your employees too. Done correctly, a digital receptionist will give your business a professional sheen without irritating the caller.

In this article, we'll explain how to set up a digital receptionist using 3CX's latest Phone System - which can be deployed for free, both on your own equipment and in the cloud - and provide tips so you can avoid making common mistakes.

Key features

So what exactly can a digital receptionist do for your business? The most obvious thing is to efficiently direct calls to the right person.

Imagine you're a caller who knows exactly who they want to call. If they know the extension number, then they can enter those digits on their phone and be put straight through. Or you can give the option of "Connect to an extension", which will then list all the available extensions.

In many companies, it's more likely that you'll want to offer options to speak to sales, support, marketing and so on. Once you set these up as call groups within the easy-to-use 3CX Management Console (the Groups page is easily found on the left-hand side), you can assign them as an option for the Digital Receptionist (see How to set up a 3CX Digital Receptionist opposite). So, saying "Press 4 for sales" will put them straight through to your eager sales team.

Often, the simplest way to deal with a call - for both the caller and the business being called - is to simply add them to the queue. You might choose for to put them straight through to a (human!) receptionist or the sales department. Again, this is a simple option during the setup process.

Naturally, there are times when callers simply want to listen to the options again or decide they want to simply speak to someone human. Convention has pressing "zero" to go straight to reception, while it makes sense to add an option to listen to the choices again.

Advanced features

Those key features will cover 80% of your calls, if not more. But if there's one thing that's guaranteed, it's that every business is different. 3CX anticipates the need for more options by making one of the options "Connect to Digital Receptionist".

This isn't some maddening Escher-like loop. It gives you the option to create a new recorded menu of options, perhaps for people who need to hear the choices in a different language. This way you could have a German language set of instructions, French, Spanish - your only limitation are the ten keys (zero to 9) that people can press.

It can also be useful to create a group voicemail for a team, and allow the caller to leave a message for them. Say, a customer calls with a problem when the office is closed. Rather than simply asking them to call again, you can have the option of leaving a message for the support team to be picked up the following day.

Another handy feature is to let callers enter someone's name and then be connected straight through. 3CX prompts the caller to enter the first three characters of that person's surname using the keys on their phone - so Andrews would be 263 - at which point they will be put straight through to the right person, or given a choice of users that match those digits.

Out of hours

So what happens if a caller phones up when the office is closed? Not a problem. Head down to the Settings option right at the bottom left. You'll see a block called "Timezone, Office Hours & Holidays". This allows you to set up opening hours for every day of the week, along with multiple break times.

If your office is always going to be closed over certain dates - the 1st of January, for example - then you can upload a custom message ("We're sorry, but the office is closed for New Year. Press 1 if you wish to leave a voicemail with the receptionist, or 2 if you wish to be redirected to a particular extension.")

It's a brilliantly flexible system.

How to set it up a 3CX Digital Receptionist

STEP 1 - INSTALL 3CX

If you're already using 3CX then great. Skip ahead to step 2. But even if not, it's simple: either download 3CX Phone System for free from 3cx.com and install it on a local system; or opt for a free hosted phone system in the cloud.

STEP - 2 ADD A RECEPTIONIST

Once set up, head to your 3CX Phone System Management Console (instructions are sent in the email during setup). For this setup, we opted for hosting in the cloud for free. You'll see something like the above screen. Press Digital Receptionist, one of the options down the left-hand side, and then select a sensible name - such as "Main welcome".

STEP 3 ADD A RECORDING

Press the +Add button to create your welcome message. 3CX uses a precise audio format - WAV, 8kHz sample, 16-bit mono - but it's easy to convert any audio recording within 3CX for Windows or using a free tool such as Audacity. Or record direct from a phone provision on 3CX. Visit pcpro.link/3cxconv for details.

STEP 4 CUSTOMISE YOUR MENU

Now the fun bit: creating the options for your callers. 3CX offers all the obvious options - connecting to an extension, connecting to a ring group (sales, say) - but also lets you go straight to voicemail or call up a second digital receptionist (foreign language options, perhaps).

Top tips for a successful digital receptionist

DON'T Record a message saying, "Press 1 to speak to an advisor about earbuds used in thermological situations in the southern Ecuador". By the time they get to the end of the message, they've forgotten what number you said.

DO Record a message saying, "For sales enquiries about earbuds, press 1". The trick is to keep the instructions straightforward, and make sure the action they need to take - "press 1" - is at the end of the sentence.

DON'T Record the messages in a busy environment. Always assume your caller is on a mobile with poor reception - you must minimise distractions.

DO Plan carefully what you want to say and practise saying it before you record it for real. You need to speak slowly and enunciate clearly. It's a good idea for someone else to listen to your recordings before they go live.

DON'T Implement a digital receptionist and then leave it for six months.

DO Ask people what they think. Did they get through to the caller quickly? Were they unsure about any of the instructions? Also, examine the data. If people are hanging up at a particular point, try and determine if it's because their query was answered or they simply got frustrated.

What next for you?

Hopefully, this guide has given you some idea of what the 3CX Digital Receptionist can do for your business. Naturally, the 3CX Phone System's skills don't end there. Automatic provisioning of phones. Recording calls for training purposes. Hotdesking. Download 3CX for free from 3cx.com or call on 020 3883 9120.