Did you hear this? 3CX’s new update 7 Alpha now supports Facebook integration and SMS messaging! This version also comes with new improvements to 3CX Live Chat including:
One central location for SMS, FB and Live Chat messages.
Easy search and filtering of chat conversations.
Messages received via Facebook, SMS or Live Chat are linked to your CRM.
New chat reporting including chat performance and abandoned chat reports.
Queue manager capabilities extended to monitor / whisper during live chat.
Let’s look at some details:
Facebook and SMS Integration
Users are able to reply to their Facebook business messages and business text messages via the chat feature included in the 3CX web client and smartphone apps. The web client allows you to compose messages to a contact or internal user group. Easily distinguish between SMS, Live Chat and Facebook messages with an icon indicator.
With this new integration, users are enabled to manage multiple channels under one platform and set up queue-based/ group handing of chats for auto-assign messages. This way, you will make sure all chats are being answered in a timely manner.
More Improvements
Integration with CRM: The server automatically checks for a matching entry against personal/company contacts, CRM or Microsoft 365.
Updated live chatbox: A refreshed UI together with improvements in security and functionality.
New Chat Reports:
Queue chat performance: Identify the performance of queues for a specified date range to help you adjust agent scheduling and capacity.
Queue Agents Chat Statistics: Check statistics of specific agents in any queue for a specified date range
Abandoned Chats: Lists unanswered messages on the various channels.
Extended Queue Manager: New feature that allows you to access active agents’ conversations.
About two-thirds of U.S. employees are working remotely during this unprecedented pandemic. Is your phone system equipped to accommodate these remote workers?
Obviously, a deskphone sitting in the office won’t help the employees who work offsite; so what options and tools are available to keep these employees safe and productive at the same time?
Using Personal Devices
Using personal communication devices such as your own mobile phone sounds like a no-brainer, however, these personal devices may not be the best in regards to security, productivity and more.
Using a Deskphone at Home
Yes, of course taking your deskphone with you may be a good choice for some. Once set up, you are able to work as if you were in the office. However, for employees that work in multiple locations or work only part time remotely, traveling with a physical phone can be cumbersome!
5 Benefits of Using Softphones Anywhere you go
A softphone is a software application that gives you access to the same phone system and features you use at work from anywhere from your PC or smartphone rather than a physical phone.
Flexibility: A softphone enables you to work from anywhere you want, as long as you have Internet access and your PC or mobile device.
Security: Using a softphone is much more secure than using your own cell phone. For example, you would be able to separate your personal and work numbers, keeping your personal information secure.
Productivity: Access to the same phone features you are familiar with and work as if you were right in the office! You won’t need to sacrifice productivity to flexibility.
Consistency: When your team uses the same softphone, this makes it easier to manage your communications. Whether your team member works at home or in the office, they are able to stay connected at the same platform.
Virtual Meetings: Hosting a video conference is easy with a softphone. Meet with your customers or teams easily online with your phone or computer.
As the federal version of Kari’s law went into effect on February 16th, 2020, everyone is paying closer attention to this complex but crucial topic. Today we will look at how Sangoma’s FreePBX can help you become compliant with Kari’s Law.
What is Kari’s Law?
Kari’s Law is created to ensure that everyone in distress can reach a public-safety answering point (PSAP) by dialing 911, with no need to dial a prefix such as 1 or 9 to get to an external line.
Who needs to be compliant with Kari’s Law?
If you manufactured, imported, or offered business phone systems for sale or lease, first sold or leased, or installed after February 16th, 2020, then you are required to follow Kari’s Law now.
Kari’s Law also requires that notification of these emergency calls is being made and sent to a central location where the phone system is installed.
How to Become Compliant with Kari’s Law
Both Sangoma’s on-premise phone systems and hosted PBX systems (FreePBX, PBXact, and Switchvox) are compliant with the location requirement and Kari’s Law. These phone systems require that the customer provide their location during the initial setup process of the phone system.
Configure the dial plan and notification system
The on-prem phone system admin and/or user needs to configure the dial plan to enable the direct E911 dial. If you are using Sangoma’s SIPStation SIP Trunking solution, you can also provide a method of updating their location by completing an online form.
For PBXact Cloud users to comply with the notification requirements, users will need an end-user admin (or the Sangoma partner) to configure the system and provide notification of these 911 calls to other onsite staff.
It can be annoying when your video is not clear during an important video conferencing meeting. To ensure that you have a clear view at all times with Jabra’s PanaCast web camera, here are some best practices you can follow:
Mount the camera at the eye-level of the participants in the room.
For Zoom users, remember that the Intelligent Zoom feature works up to 3.6m/12ft from PanaCast camera
Check the Field of View: Make sure you are using the optimal viewing angle. This setting is available in Jabra Direct
Adjust the Image Quality: Make sure your brightness and saturation are optimal according to your room settings. This can be found in Jabra Direct
Look around your meeting room to make sure that all participants are under proper lighting
Avoid any lights pointing directly at the Jabra PanaCast Web Camera
Check the Vivid HDR setting to optimize video under any lighting conditions and improve overall real-time experience
Optimize your video settings in your video conferencing application
Connect your cable to the right USB port:
A USB 3.0 port gives you 4K resolution at 30 frames per second
A USB 2.0 port gives you 4K resolution at 22 frames per second
There you have it! Is your PanaCast web camera all optimized and ready for a clear conversation? Share your experience with us!
Is your business utilizing SMS/MMS services? If not, it’s time to consider it! Engaging your customers has never been easier and faster. More and more businesses now use SMS/MMS texting services for a variety of applications including:
Sales promotions
Appointment reminders
Product launches
Identity verification
Alerts & notifications
Surveys
Customer support
Delivery tracking
Event ticketing
Marketing campaign
Contests
And more!
Text Messaging is More Effective Than Emails
Did you know that nearly every text message is opened, compared to only 1 in 5 emails? And almost all text messages are considered priority communications and read within 3 minutes. Customers also show higher engagement and response rates with text messaging! What does this mean? SMS/MMS has a lot of potential for your business!
Bubble by Broadvoice MMS/SMS Texting Services
Bubble by Broadvoice is designed to allow you to interact instantly with your clients no matter where they are — via business SMS/MMS messages. Let’s check out some of its must-have features:
Outbound text automation
Automate customer interactions using these SMS tools:
Textcasts – Broadcast a text message to a list of customer mobile numbers.
Message Templates – Set up automated responses to customer messages.
Timetexts – Schedule text messages one at a time, as a series or as appointment reminders.
Inbound text routing
Turn your call center into an omnichannel contact center with Broadvoice’s exclusive Live Agent Routing feature, which allows you to:
Route customer texts to agent queues just like phone calls.
Leverage built-in intelligence to direct calls to the right department or agent.
Monitor text queues, volume, and even individual interactions.
More Benefits of Bubble by Broadvoice
Avoid wasted time and manpower on missed calls and voicemail messages
Templatize and automate routine notifications and responses
Deliver promotions and special offers straight to your customers
Give customers immediate and responsive service they will rave about
Text enable your software, website, or other applications leveraging the simple API
Let customers contact your teams by text and phone
You are also able to easily monitor your customer engagement with Broadvoice Bubble’s intuitive dashboard!
The rise of remote work has brought opportunities to hackers. VoIP Supply and 3CX co-host a monthly webinar to help our 3CXresellers stay on top of the latest updates/ This month, we focused on the measures you can take to secure your phone system! Let’s take a quick glance at the eight actions you can take immediately:
Setting up your SIP authentication is the first step! The default setting requires a random 10 character alphanumeric SIP ID and password; however, you can secure further with more characters (up to 50)
#2 Extension Security: Voicemail PIN
Do you have PIN numbers for your voicemail? One you enable the default setting, you can set up a random 4-digits of numeric PIN and the system gives you 3 failed attempts. If you don’t need voicemail at all, it’s better to disable the function.
You can also make your voicemail more secure by increasing the PIN digit length (up to 10)
#3 Extension Security: Security Settings
Check out more security settings you can change to protect your system here:
Disable Extension for unused extensions
Disable External calls. Only internal calls possible
PIN Protect. Allow external calls only after entry of Voicemail PIN (Example: 777)
Prevent extensions from REGISTERing from outside the Local LAN
Prevent Apps from connecting from external locations through the tunnel
Set allowed country codes to specify to which countries your calls are allowed to be made. Follow these steps:
→ Settings → Security → Allowed Country Codes
→ Specifies to which countries calls are allowed to be made
→ Uses International Dialing Code from E164 settings
→ Match after Outbound Rule reformatting
→ Must match exactly to be effective
#5 Configure Secure SIP
→ Settings → Security → Secure SIP
→ Certificates pre-configured for 3CX FQDNs
→ Provision telephones in sSIP mode (Manually)
→ Attention: Secure SIP uses TCP port 5061 (Default)
3CX App for Windows
→ Extension → Phone Provisioning → SIP Transport = TLS
#6 SRTP
Encryption of audio streams (RTP)
→ from and to an active extension
→ Using crypto keys
→ Must be activated on Extension & IP Phone (useless without sSIP)
Setup of sRTP IP Phones
→ Enable sRTP via the Web UI of Phones
3CX App for Windows
→ RTP Mode = Only Secure
#7 Anti-Hacking Options
There are more anti-hacking actions you can take:
Failed Authentication Protection
→ Specify the amount of failed Authentication Attempts
→ Once Exceeded → Blacklisted
○ Default → 25 attempts
You can also secure your system further by reducing the number of attempts allowed (min 3). Just be careful that reducing too much may cause legitimate extensions to be Blacklisted!
Failed Challenge Requests
→ Specify the amount of Unchallenged 407 Authentication Requests
→ Once Exceeded → Blacklisted
The default gives you 1000 attempts but again, you can alter this number to reduce attempts allowed (min 100).
Protects against packet floods
Split into 3 levels/barriers
→ Below Amber = no action
→ Amber Barrier reached = 5 seconds (throttling)
→ Red Barrier reached = Blacklist interval
Blacklist Time Interval
→ Once IP is Blacklisted by Anti-Hacking Options
→ Remains Blacklisted for the number of seconds specified
The default number is 86400 s (24 hrs). You can increase value upto a maximum of 1,000,000,000 s (~11,574 days or 31.7 years).
#8 IP Blacklist
Block out unwanted guests by adding their IP address to a blacklist:
→ Dashboard → IP Blacklist
○ When Anti-Hacking criteria are met
→ IPs of ‘perpetrators’ are added
→ Default Global Blacklist Time Interval
You may also manually set up the Blacklist / Whitelist IPs to deny and/or allow certain IPs.
Did you join our VoIP Supply reseller webinar this month? If you didn’t, don’t miss out on this webinar recap! This month, Don talked about our new products, Snom’s new certification with Metaswitch, Broadvoice Bubble features, and so much more. Let’s dive in!
What New Products Should VoIP Resellers Look Out For?
There are many exciting new products being released this month!
Grandstream’s UCM6300
Grandstream’s UCM6300 has drawn a ton of attention and we will have them in stock on Monday (October 26th!). The UCM6300 Series is Grandstream’s latest IP PBXs that support desktop (WebRTC), mobile (Wave app), SIP video conferencing endpoints, IP phones.
ESI’s Access 5D Thermal Reader
Looking for a solution that will help your customers keep their work environment safe during this difficult time? Definitely check out the ESI Access 5D Thermal Reader!
This device is designed to check for a flexible set of variables that can be set by each organization according to their access needs. It utilizes RFID scans, QR codes, and even facial recognition for a wide range of different scenarios and businesses
Patton’s SN500
Don’t forget to also check out Patton’s latest addition to its SmartNode family. Designed for small/home offices and small to medium enterprises, the SN500 supports 4 to 30 concurrent SIP calls.
Metaswitch Certifies Interoperability with Snom SIP Phones
Snom is proud to announce the successful interop of Snom SIP phones with cloud-native communications leader, Metaswitch. The platforms added the following Snom desksets, DECT mobility and conference solutions to Metaswitch PBX solutions, resulting in successful interoperability and ease of configuration:
Have you heard of Broadvoice Bubble? Broadvoice Bubble lets users interact instantly with clients wherever they are via business SMS/MMS messages delivered automatically to their smartphones!
Key benefits include:
Avoid wasted time and manpower on missed calls and voicemail messages
Templatize and automate routine notifications and responses
Deliver promotions and special offers straight to your customers
Give customers immediate and responsive service
Text-enable your software, website, or other applications
Let customers contact your service by text as well as phone
It’s time to review our new VoIP Hardware this month! The biggest highlight goes to Grandstream’s new UCM6300 Series IP PBX.
Grandstream’s UCM6300 IP PBX
Grandstream’s UCM6300 series is a new series of high-end UCM IP PBXs. The UCM6300 series includes four models, the UCM6301, UCM6302, UCM6304, and UCM6308. These new IP PBXs draw a lot of attention between businesses looking for an increased capacity (up to 5000 users!). Click here to learn more about the UCM6300!
Key Features:
A true enterprise-grade unified communications solution
Increased capacity – up to 5000 users
Included video conferencing platform
Built-in high-availability and hot standby
API available for integrations and interoperability (Asterisk 16)
Yealink’s New T4U Series IP Phones
The next big highlight goes to Yealink’s T4U Series. Yealik’s new T4U Series offers the same elegant appearance as the T4 line, but with improvements on greater interoperability and better collaboration. These IP phones come with secure interoperability, easy customization, and more advanced features such as:
High Expansibility
Optima HD Audio
Acoustic Shield
Efficient Installation and Provisioning
Secure Transport and Interoperability
Patton’s SmartNode 500 Session Border Controller and Router
Designed for small/home offices and small to medium enterprises, the SN500 supports 4 to 30 concurrent SIP calls. The SN500 provides protection to your network, as well as call-quality assurance for ALL-IP business communications.
Key Features:
2 x Ethernet 10/100/1000Base-T
4 SIP Sessions no RTP transcoding (SIP b2b UA) upgradeable
Patton Cloud Orchestrated Advanced CDRs and Call Quality Metrics**
Ready to learn more new VoIP hardware this month? Visit our new product page here or give one of our VoIP solution consultants a call at 1-800-398-8647 today.
VoIP Supply is featuring used Poly products for this month’s top Refresh picks. Our Refresh product line is made up of quality used phones that have been put through our comprehensive 10-step process to help ensure that the products work well and look great.
Another 12-line IP Phone is the VVX 501. This model also features Gigabit ports and has a touch-screen display. This model has less BLF keys than the VVX 411 above and has a different interface, but the functions are very similar.
For the executive user or employees who handle a large number or calls, the Poly VVX 601 IP Phone adds 4 lines with support for up to 16-lines. It also features a larger screen than the previous models with a 4.3in LCD gesture based, multi-touch capable capacitive touchscreen display. The VVX 601 has been designed with managers and high-level employees in mind who can benefit from an expandable office phone.
All of the Poly models featured here are capable of easily integrating with third-party Unified Communications (UC) apps in order to help increase productivity.
For more information about Refresh (like new) products from VoIP Supply contact us as 1-800-398-8647.
For the executive user or employees who handle a large number or calls, the Poly VVX 601 IP Phone adds 4 lines with support for up to 16-lines. It also features a larger screen than the previous models with a 4.3in LCD gesture based, multi-touch capable capacitive touchscreen display. The VVX 601 has been designed with managers and high-level employees in mind who can benefit from an expandable office phone.
All of the Poly models featured here are capable of easily integrating with third-party Unified Communications (UC) apps in order to help increase productivity.
For more information about Refresh (like new) products from VoIP Supply contact us at 1-800-398-8647.
Remote teaching is just as challenging as distance learning. Especially for teachers who had no experience with remote communication devices. Luckily, with the right devices and practice, all teachers can get the hang of it pretty quickly! Our team put together these 4 tips to help you set up an effective virtual classroom:
extend your computer screen to a secondary screen in the room
2. Test Your Invitation
Practice sending out an invitation to children who are remote. You generally have two options:
Everyone who tries to join will be asked to join your classroom
Only allow students who are in your class to join the classroom
3. Check Audio and Video Settings
Make sure your audio and camera devices are selected properly.
For Google Meet Users:
Click ‘three dots’ in the bottom right of the Google Meet room
Click ‘Settings’
Audio tab
Microphone
Konftel Ego/55Wx
Speakers
Konftel Ego/55Wx
Video tab
Konftel Cam20/Cam50
Send ‘High Resolution’
For Zoom Users:
Click ‘^’ next to Mute
Select a Microphone
Select the Konftel Ego/Konftel 55WX
Click ‘^’ next to Video
Konftel Cam20/Cam50
4. Get Familiar with Your Controls:
Play around with the control settings ahead of time will help you prepare for the real class sessions. How do you mute and unmute a student? How do you share your entire screen or a Chrome tab? Check out these basics:
