Microsoft sure is pumping out the new products: Office, Windows 7 and now Exchange 2010. The feature that really impressed me is the Voicemail Preview feature that appears to convert audio voicemails into readable emails! (it will even SMS the first part of it to your mobile!)

To read the official Microsoft site on this feature (and more) click below:
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/2010/en/us/unified-messaging.aspx

To quote the…

There is quite a bit of interest in Windows based IP PBX systems lately. For a company that sells, implements and provides ongoing support for Windows based IP PBX's this is great! But are all windows pbx's created equal? What should I look for?

Rock Solid Operation
Businesses have come to expect a phonesystem to be up and troublefree nearly 100% of the time. If a software pbx needs reboots when relatively small changes are made or to correct day to day issues this will cause CEOs and users quite a bit of frustration. Does the pbx require manual watching to make sure it is still up? Or does it have a good system to proactively alert the admin to urgent issues? Can the system admin put new pbx features & components to use with confidence the will work solidly? Without spending a lot of time debugging and fiddling?

Features Comparable to Legacy System…

I've been attending the Microsoft Convergence 2009 Conference this past week. The conference is focused on Microsoft's Dynamics business software but there were some Office and Server sessions. I sat in 2 sessions about OCS 2007…

I've been spending a lot of time helping people with and promoting standards based business IP phone systems. This week I'm heading to Microsoft's Convergence 2009 in New Orleans (microsoft's erp/business management software solutions conference) so I thot I'd highlight an integration we've done and will be providing to the Dynamics community.

Two major Windows based IP PBX vendors have released their versions of call monitor and control tools on the same day. 3CX just released their 3CX Call Assistant and PBXnSIP announced their pbxnsip Attendent…

I've spent quite a bit of time working on & cleaning up this wikipedia article (one of my…

We currently use Live Messenger as a "poor man's" OCS/Instant Messenger server for our company. This last week I've been in Miami getting up to power on what's happening in the…

I was hoping to have more details to share but after installing and using Windows 7 I have to get the news out: I'm impressed!

To make sure you know that I don't gush about new versions of Windows I need to let you know at our firm we still don't recommend Vista be placed into an existing network. And we always have a "wait and see" on new server and desktop operating systems (and for that matter any new product). I hate unstable products. (that is an understatement ;-) I guess I'm more your normal "i have 3 seconds" CEO than unruffled geek, but I…

Stephen Elop, president of the Microsoft Business Division says that many companies have already bypassed buying an IP PBX box:
"...by using software to do the job that hardware did in the past -- only do it better"
http://rcpmag.com/news/article.aspx?editorialsid=10315

Here is a video of Elop's comments:
http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/Features/2008/oct08/10-14OCSR2video.mspx

Here is a non-Microsoft take on the new features in OCS 2007 R2
http://www.ocspedia.com/Misc/OCS_2007_R2_Press_R…

I'm still trying to figure out the circumstances you would use it but I've just been playing with a web based SIP softphone. I'm amazed how easy it is to use. You just browse to the webpage, say "yes" to an activex install (your browser does need activex) and then type in…

I have been a big proponent of using the Snom 300 series SIP IP phones in 3CX installations. But where ever you use the Snom phones (Asterisk or whatever) they have become…

We are launching a series of 3CX training videos. We want them to be short, to the point and include real world tips we have found that work. At Landis Computer we…

I just had 2 experiences that surprised me.

The first happened several months ago. Landis Computer needed more bandwidth after doing with 2MB for several years. When I called our broadband provider and asked what it would cost to double our speed I got an astonishing answer that caused the rep to stutter: It would drop $1/Month!

Now…

We find a lot of people approach 3CX from the Do-It-Yourself standpoint. We have bundled a lot of helpful resources…

I was just notified that 3CX released a v7Beta 3CXVoipClient that addresses the audio issue…

I’m finally far enough along on the book to tackle a few other things on my list and one of  those items was a logo for DynamicAccounting.net. I settled on a flywheel/atomic energy style logo in Microsoft Dynamics colors…