What software doesn’t just link your workforce but solves their problems too?
No prizes for guessing 3CX, but you might be surprised by just how powerful and easy it is to use its expanded remote control
Thanks to a midsummer update, it’s now even simpler for businesses that run 3CX software to solve problems for their staff and their customers. Not to mention run onscreen demonstrations.
It’s all thanks to an expanded remote control offering that makes it straightforward 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.
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 agree for 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 then switch to a different screen 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
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 straightforward 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, the 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.