How your organization manages internal and external communications is a key differentiating factor in overall business success. Whether it is for serving clients better or boosting sales, choosing the correct technology can provide the right impetus for growth. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, businesses across the globe are increasingly looking for ways to help teams collaborate remotely to boost productivity and engagement.
Here is where PBX systems come into the picture! A holistic Private Branch Exchange (PBX) platform can provide companies with a phone system to handle voice communication, reduce operational costs and improve collaboration.
However, with tons of integrated PBX solutions available in the market, choosing the best one for your business may be overwhelming. Today, to help you with your decision, we bring the spotlight to 3CX – a unified communications system that helps you connect and collaborate effortlessly.
3CX is a modern and versatile PBX, cloud conferencing, and live chat solution that integrates various call center features seamlessly. These include functionalities such as call back to prevent overflow, call queue to individuals and groups, and call recording to help streamline call center processes and drive quality. It has in-built video calling capabilities, web-conferencing, and integrated live chats, messages, and texts.
3CX is created to help teams work productively from anywhere using minimal hardware and software. It allows you to service customer requests via live chat and conduct business meetings remotely without using any specialized apps.
Let us now dive deep to learn more about this comprehensive communications software and how it can empower you to achieve your business goals.
About 3CX
Founded in 2005, 3CX is now a force to reckon with in the domain of global VoIP business communication. The company has moved beyond being a mere PBX provider and evolved to a unified communications service provider by offering customers a customizable and affordable solution for calls, video conferencing, and chat.
3CX allows you to choose your own extension numbers, SIP trunk, cloud provider, and hardware, and gives you the flexibility to host it in the cloud or on-premises. Most companies also make software-only PBX products, which primarily run on Linux computers, whereas 3CX also supports Windows operating system – which is a great plus point!
One great aspect about 3CX’s pricing is that it’s completely free for the first year. This is beneficial for users as they get a hands-on experience of the system and then choose a specific plan and tier. With three plans – Standard, Pro, and Enterprise, 3CX surely provides organizations with flexible options molded to their business requirements.
With a global presence in 190 countries and more than 12 million users, today 3CX is a market leader in the domain of effortless VoIP business communication. It has a giant pool of reputed clients with household names such as Air France, Best Western, and PepsiCo. Let’s go ahead and check out some of the unique features of 3CX that differentiate it from market competitors and deliver a seamless customer experience.
Key Features of 3CX
Getting started with 3CX is pretty simple. All you have to do is sign up for an account and choose how to get hosted and the preferred subdomain. We didn’t need to wait much – just a quick ten-minute process for the system setup.
The dashboard is the first thing you view on the screen. It displays important information about the system, the PBX status, and an event log. Intuitive and highly navigable, the 3CX dashboard allows users to use functionalities such as setting up phones, SIP trunks, and extensions.
With its advanced technology, 3CX has world-class features that make it stand apart from other business communication systems. Some of these include:
Flexible Deployment:
With 3CX, you get to choose from two deployment choices:
- On-Premise Phone System: 3CX works as an open-platform office phone solution that can operate on-premise on Linux or Windows or on mini PCs and Raspberry Pis. Highly customizable, 3CX enables you to build a personalized platform with your choice of IP phone and SIP trunks. It is a smart all-in-one software that eliminates hardware problems and management issues of outdated, proprietary systems.
- Hosted PBX: If you prefer a cloud solution, 3CX can also be hosted in your own private cloud, or you can choose to have it hosted by 3CX. 3CX hosting frees your time and resources as 3CX manages the system for you 24/7, including updates and security patches.
Mobile Apps:
Designed to enhance business mobility, 3CX includes smartphone apps for iOS and Android that facilitate remote working on a secured communication framework. The mobile 3CX app lets you change your status and also check team availability at a glance. Setting up the 3CX app is also a hassle-free process as it can be configured remotely via a QR code.
What’s good is that 3CX apps enable team members to carry their PBX extensions with them anywhere and work on the go! It ensures employees can video conference, send messages, conduct live chat, and reply to customer calls from anywhere in the world – a great way to boost productivity!3CX SwitchBoard:
The 3CX switchboard allows you to view and manage calls and you can drag-and-drop calls to transfer them to others and get a view of all incoming calls. You start off by choosing the ‘View’ that works best for you, e.g., user, receptionist, manager, or wallboard.
The switchboard offers powerful features that enable you to monitor calls, view call queue activity on a single screen, barge calls, and show the status of employee extensions. Such a function is highly useful for system administrators caught in high-traffic situations who need to manage call transfers and queues effectively.CRM Software Integration:
3CX lets your team members know who is calling before they pick up the phone, as the PBX can integrate easily with your CRM or helpdesk. This empowers call agents to open their records, view past conversations, and provide better customer service. Automatic call journaling saves time involved in creating manual records, and they can build custom call flows to automate questions and workflows.
Integrated Video Conferencing:
With 3CX, users get access to enterprise-level video conferencing that is secure, user-friendly, and free. There is no need to use any other application for video conferences – users just need to click on a single button to invite participants to switch to a video conference.
The system makes it easy to schedule a meeting instantly, invite participants through a calendar and send a meeting URL. In addition, 3CX promotes collaboration through creating whiteboards, sharing documents, viewing and controlling remote screens, etc.
Live Chat:
3CX can help organizations enhance customer engagement and lead conversions. Website visitors can chat with call agents in real-time and can easily switch to live or video calls without any need to dial phone numbers.
The call agent can immediately answer through 3CX Web Client, Windows desktop app, or mobile app. It’s a great way to unify all customer communication and keep it in one place, including all the chats from social media channels and business SMS messages.User-Friendly Web Client:
The 3CX Web Client can help you communicate and collaborate with partners or team members right from your browser or native desktop app. You can directly make calls, check colleagues’ availability status, and video conference- all from one centralized location.
The Web Client just takes a few minutes to set up – you need to go to ‘Your User Account on 3CX’ email and click on your web client URL. You can log in using the credentials in your email or with your Google or Microsoft 365 account.It is an easy-to-use platform that reduces admin hassles and promotes operational efficiency. The best part is that you can make or receive calls directly from the browser without opening Web Client. Hence, it is effortless for call agents to launch calls to numbers displayed on web pages and CRM systems to save time and energy.
Microsoft 365 Integration:
If your organization uses Microsoft 365, then 3CX is the perfect communication platform for you. It empowers users to work across both applications – 3CX and Microsoft 365 to manage contacts in a unified repository and streamline team tasks to provide customer delight!3CX ensures a simple integration process that can be completed in minutes. SSO authentication enables Microsoft 365 users to log in with a single click.
Microsoft Teams Integration:
3CX has an advanced Microsoft Teams phone system integration to help users leverage low-cost domestic and international tariffs offered by regional SIP providers. The main objective of 3CX is to provide smooth service both for 3CX users dialing Microsoft Team users and members who can dial through an intuitive interface they are familiar with already.
The 3CX Microsoft Teams PBX integration enables you to choose your cost-effective SIP provider in the region. The easy configuration of call queues and routing allows you to power up your Teams PBX. In addition, you can leverage ring groups and paging functionality and even create auto attendants. It also helps to evaluate and monitor agent performance through call recording.
Support:
User support is something 3CX does not compromise upon – there are extensive self-help support methods available that include user manuals and community forums. You can avail of technical support and problem resolution from the partner nearest to your location. Users can also purchase support from 3CX at $75 per ticket.
The switchboard offers powerful features that enable you to monitor calls, view call queue activity on a single screen, barge calls, and show the status of employee extensions. Such a function is highly useful for system administrators caught in high-traffic situations who need to manage call transfers and queues effectively.
The Web Client just takes a few minutes to set up – you need to go to ‘Your User Account on 3CX’ email and click on your web client URL. You can log in using the credentials in your email or with your Google or Microsoft 365 account.The Final Word
Investing in 3CX can help cut down travel and telco costs by 40%, as your team can work from any geographical location at no extra cost. The system is flexible, advanced, and user-friendly, making it easy to implement for all kinds of business organizations. The dashboard is the highlight of the system, giving a birds’ eye view of all essential metrics and important information.
3CX is a must-have business tool packed with innovative features to enhance business communication and increase agent productivity. It is definitely worth a shot to invest in this all-inclusive communications system as it will boost all key bottom-line results and increase business revenues exponentially!
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