The headache-free guide to implementing a new VoIP system
Installing 3CX’s software PBX is a slick process, but there are still some steps you should take if you want the smoothest possible migration
Picture the scenario. You’ve invested thousands of pounds into a new IT system with a features list that reads like a dream. This, you believe, is the big one. Happy end users. Happy finance director, because you have slashed your overall costs. Happy you, because maintenance will be almost zero. But we all know this doesn’t happen by magic. For the best results, you need careful planning – and perhaps some outside expertise, from people who have done it all before.
While 3CX’s PBX is a well-established service, there are things you can do before switchover day that will make your life easier. We speak to Nick Borg, product manager for 3CX, to find out the steps you can take to improve your life, as well as those of your employees’.
Choose a partner
First things first. Unless you’re choosing the free version of 3CX, you’ll need a 3CX partner. Fortunately, they are easy to find. Head to www.3cx.com/ordering/find-reseller and you can search by location, pick a nearby city or drill down into a region using the interactive map (England and Scotland only).
“As a 100% channel company we always recommend that customers use a 3CX partner,” said Borg. “Our partners are trained on 3CX and can offer the customer the support, knowledge and expertise required regardless of installation size. Also, for troubleshooting issues, it’s always good to have someone on call that knows the system like the back of their hand.”
Even if you’re choosing the free option, it makes sense to opt for a certified SIP trunk provider. Opposite, we provide a checklist to go through before you decide who is right for you. “Using a certified SIP Trunk with 3CX makes setup and configuration a walk in the park,” said Borg. “All you need to do is create an account with the SIP Trunk, log in to the 3CX Management Console, select your SIP Trunk from the drop down, fill in your SIP Trunk account details and voilà – all configuration is done automatically. 3CX also ensures that all certified SIP Trunk providers’ templates are updated and tested against each new build and update.” So much for setup. Now to the big question: how do you
make sure day one goes smoothly?
All in the planning
“I believe in training, I believe in demos, I believe in test runs,” said Nick Borg. “Some people even buy refurbished phones to see how they work and what they can do before making a big investment in phones. After all, the price of the PBX that does all the work is so little compared to the phone on each desk.”
So how does he recommend companies should plan? “I would create a demo group and I would make sure I knew the opinions of core people. What’s the point in me choosing a
phone for the receptionist? I need the receptionist’s feedback – what features the phone should have – before I make the investment. You won’t be changing phones every two years – you have one choice, so it should be done with as much precision as possible.”
And what mistakes do companies make when they invest in new phones? “I’m very happy to answer that question!” said Borg. “Some users try to customise phones and create custom templates. This might make sense if you’re a company with thousands of users and have a team of admins that know what they’re doing. But even very technical teams can make mistakes sometimes.
“It’s incredible what I see people do with phones. However, some phone models require XML provisioning and have thousands and thousands of entries.” This, said Borg, could cause issues if the templates aren’t updated at the same time as an upgrade to the software.
“As a result, we created a very safe provisioning system,” explained Borg. “When a user switches on their phone and it doesn’t appear in the management console or doesn’t get an IP, it probably means there are some networking issues. Basically, 3CX is notifying the user: ‘Hey, something here is not right. Something in your network is illegal’ so don’t expect to see this phone in your console before you fix this problem.”
Secure your system
Worried about security? That’s sensible, but Borg explains this is no longer a key issue when implementing 3CX. “Before, admins used to make the same crucial and very dangerous mistake of leaving the password of the phone as the manufacturer made it,” he said. “So, if you have an attack, then the attacker knows how to access all the phones on your network! We have tightened that up completely, because an admin must, as part of the install procedure, change the default password of the phone.”
Our previous guide covered how to choose your perfect phone ( see issue 288, p74), but it’s worth flagging why you should stick to the phones on 3CX’s list. “I recommend that all administrators go to the list of supported IP phones on www.3cx.com/ sip-phones and choose from it,” said Borg.
“There’s a guarantee behind that list that there are people – trained staff – who are checking for firmware, checking for vulnerabilities, checking for how the phone behaves, and making sure that your chosen phone, with that firmware and that bootloader, together with this version of 3CX, gives you the best user experience.”
Train your staff
Choosing the right phone ties in to our final point: training your staff. “Some phones, if they aren’t chosen correctly, can end up costing you more – not because of their price, but because of the time it takes to train your staff to use the new phone,” said Borg. “Also, the way the phones work might not tie in to the way you run your business. For example, maybe it’s complicated to make a call transfer to mobile phones. That means staff will have problems – they’ll transfer calls to the wrong person, and some phones don’t bounce back when a transfer fails. So you end up with lost calls and this can cause issues for your business.”
Then there’s the issue of choosing phones that are too complicated, or buying a brilliant system and not actually explaining what it can do to your team. “Let’s say a receptionist has been working with a phone for 20 years, and one fine day, they’re faced with a new phone,” Borg said. “That can be a big challenge. So, they have to be educated. We need to give one-to-one education, one-toone time, and it will involve patience.”
This is one reason to seriously consider using software phones, whether apps on a mobile phone or on a computer. “On the IP phone you’re constrained to the model, to the firmware – you cannot customise it in any way,” said Borg.
“Apps, whether on your mobile device or desktop, are much easier to teach, because they’re visual.” In contrast, Borg points out, app developers can easily make updates and push them out instantly. “This means that if there’s an improvement or a fix required this can happen on the spot - the user just needs to click the update button. This is one of the main reasons VoIP apps are becoming more and more popular.”