Overall: For under 50 extensions and without any special functionality, 3CX is a very user-friendly platform. However, for any project that requires any custom functionality, 3CX will simply not be able to offer help.
Pros: The 3CX installer on both Linux and Windows is incredibly easy to use and users can go from nothing to a fully-featured phone system in less than 20 minutes. Once installed, the user interface is very clean and straightforward. The 3CX Softphone that can be installed on Windows and mac computers pairs effortlessly with 3CX provisioning files.
Cons: 3CX offers very little customization outside of the user interface, and commonly phone system managers will be simply unable to perform more-complex call routing. As an example, dynamic outbound routes are simply not possible outside of the overly-simple Outbound Routes tab, and you are limited to only prefix, length of destination, and from extension. Compared to FreePBX and FusionPBX, the ability to customize 3CX is almost non-existent. 3CX Support will 100% of the time deflect any technical issues to the carrier, and after numerous ticket responses later, they will finally admit to being able to help. SIP SRV records are completely broken and not compliant with the SIP RFC. It’s hilarious how catastrophic this lack of functionality is. Faxing is completely broken. It will be a complete nightmare if you attempt to run T.38 faxing over a 3CX phone system.
A PBX, or Private Branch Exchange System, serves a private network of telephones in an office and acts as the gateway from a company to the outside world.A traditional standard PBX is a physical, on-site switching system that performs these central functions and hooks up to the public switched telephone system (PSTN). The PSTN connects the world’s telephone lines, cellular and satellite communications networks, and others, allowing us to hear a voice on the other end of the line.Leading hosted PBX solutionscan offer the same basic PBX features and more for 40-80% less.
A PBX system routes incoming calls to the appropriate extension in an office. It also allows businesses to share phone lines between extensions. Standard PBX users can add features and functions to better suit a business. However, with the physical limitations of this technology, every change or enhancement requires massive reconfigurations performed by a trained telephone technician.
The range of features offered by a PBX system varies. The price of the equipment and service required to introduce these features hampers their availability due to the high level of maintenance required. Primary functions of PBX phones include:
A single business number that gives access to all company employees and departments
A menu of options for directing the call, such as connecting to a specific extension or to a department
A directory of employee extensions accessible by inputting digits corresponding to employee first or last names
Evenly distributed calls to a department among available employees through Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) queues
The ability to place callers on hold when they are waiting for an available department employee
Music or custom messages whenever callers are waiting on hold
Voice messages for any employee extension, department, or for the company in general
Transfer of calls between extensions
Conferencing multiple incoming calls with employee extensions
Detailed records of incoming and outgoing calls
Not all equipment vendors offer these features and furthermore, not every customer will need them. Possibly the most valuable feature to include for many businesses, however, are Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) queues. Consequently, this is also one of the most challenging functions for physical switches to provide. ACD queues are typically unavailable or cost prohibitive from a standard PBX provider.
Standard PBX Strengths
Physical PBX phone systems are mature technologies that offer many benefits for the right type of application. Businesses that can reliably predict their needs can usually find a fixed, cost-effective system. To be more precise, this option works only for businesses who will not need to scale-up or scale-down the functionality of their system.
Standard PBX Weaknesses
Standard PBX Costs
Costs are problematic with standard PBX systems in two areas. First, it is very expensive to get an advanced system up and running. These costs typically run upwards of $2,000 per seat (user), including the cost of the equipment, installation, and wiring. At the lower end of the spectrum, the equipment offers limited features and usually limited scalability but both still lack most sophisticated features without special, and costly, configurations.
An additional, often overlooked expense goes towards ongoing maintenance and support. As PBX equipment continues to add functionality, highly trained support staff become mandatory to maintain the hardware and software, roll out system upgrades, and manage system use. Ongoing support and maintenance costs typically run at about 1% of the cost of the equipment each month. For example, a $20,000 PBX switch, which would provide service to 10 to 40 employees, depending on system features, would typically cost an additional $200 per month for maintenance.
Standard PBX Scalability
PBX hardware is limited in its ability to add internal and external lines and to support more users or features. Low-end systems are especially difficult in this regard. This often forces small businesses to overbuy in order to have enough capacity for the business they hope to grow into. There are also many features which cannot be added to an existing system. This forces businesses to pay for new systems in order to get relatively uncomplicated feature upgrades.
Standard PBX Adaptability
Original PBX equipment architects, designed system functionality for employees in a centrally located office. Today’s mobile environment is incompatible with this model. Basic PBX architecture is challenged to send calls out of its home network to a different phone.
For more information on the overall comparison between hosted and on-site PBX systems, visit the PBX Cost Comparisons Table.
Organizations across every industry are discovering how today’s technologies help them achieve their objectives. For example, retailers use beacons to personalize marketing messages to individual customers based on where they are inside a store. Hospitals use technology to track patients and understand their experiences, helping to reduce readmission rates. Airlines use apps to streamline check-in, and sports teams use them to boost stadium attendance.
While new technologies present powerful opportunities for enterprises, they also introduce challenges. The pace of change in IT is unprecedented. No longer can IT departments standardize on one or two computer models, a single operating system, and a short list of approved applications. The mobile devices and cloud-based technologies that have brought so much possibility have also introduced a hodgepodge of devices, platforms and apps for IT departments to manage and secure.
For many organizations, those challenges add up to significant expenses: the cost of hiring and training qualified workers, purchasing the infrastructure to support emerging technologies, and keeping systems up to date and secure. Rather than struggle to keep pace with technology, many organizations turn to managed services providers for help. By trusting a third party such as CDW to handle cloud deployments, data center solutions, mobile initiatives, collaboration tools and security, organizations can focus their time and resources on their core business objectives.
Managed service providers take a holistic approach to IT services, resulting in a higher standard than many organizations are able to achieve in-house. Top service providers also offer ongoing management and maintenance of the underlying infrastructure, along with end-user support and service guarantees.
Turning to a trusted partner offers several advantages, including:
1. Freeing up IT staff
Most IT departments are stretched thin. By outsourcing back-end functions or complex, rapidly changing technologies, organizations dedicate their in-house technology experts to projects that will further their core objectives and promote innovation.
2. Keeping pace with the demands for IT expertise
Organizations around the world are struggling to fill IT positions, particularly in cybersecurity and mobile app development. Outsourcing these functions to a partner with technically skilled and specialized engineers in new and emerging technologies alleviates these pressures.
3. Greater scalability
IT shops spend months — even years — deploying massive systems. Many organizations are finding it more effective to start small, move fast and expand as needed. CDW’s modular approach to managed services makes it easy for enterprises to scale up or down depending on demand, such as a retailer increasing capacity around the holidays, or a startup experiencing sudden growth.
4. 24/7 availability
The 9-to-5 workday is as outdated today as the phone booth. When users work around the clock, so must the network. With a managed services provider, help is always available — days, nights, weekends or holidays — to support users.
5. Shifting the burden of compliance
In addition to regular audits, many organizations are obligated to meet standards and requirements with their IT initiatives. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and Sarbanes–Oxley Act spell out rules regarding privacy, reporting and security in the healthcare, education, financial services and retail industries. CDW understands the regulations that organizations are bound by, and can provide the systems, processes and reports to guarantee that organizations meet their requirements — without placing that burden on in-house staff.
6. Predictable monthly costs
Every IT investment comes with peripheral costs. Organizations need adequate networks, storage, and security. They must train staff, deploy systems and manage equipment. Unexpected costs arise at any time. By outsourcing initiatives to a managed service provider, organizations can break down their costs into fixed monthly payments, as opposed to the large capital expenditures that come with managing systems in-house.
What is the Internet of Things (IoT) and how can we secure it?
The History and Future of Quantum Information
Credit: N. Hanacek/NIST
Peanut butter and chocolate. Rice and soy sauce. Milk and cookies. When two good things get together, they can create something even better. That’s the case with quantum information—the marriage of quantum physics and computing theory. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has contributed to much of its history and is helping to shape its future. Read the full feature.
Cybersecurity Framework
Created through collaboration between industry and government, the Cybersecurity Framework consists of standards, guidelines, and practices to promote the protection of critical infrastructure. The prioritized, flexible, repeatable, and cost-effective approach of the Framework helps owners and operators of critical infrastructure to manage cybersecurity-related risk. Below, some participants in the creation and utilization of the document share their thoughts about the Framework.
PBX stands for Private Branch Exchange, which is a private telephone network used within a company or organization. The users of the PBX phone system can communicate internally (within their company) and externally (with the outside world), using different communication channels like Voice over IP, ISDN or analog. A PBX also allows you to have more phones than physical phone lines (PTSN) and allows free calls between users. Additionally, it provides features like transfer calls, voicemail, call recording, interactive voice menus (IVRs) and call queues.
Traditional PBXs would have their own proprietary phones, such that there would be a way to re-use these phones with a different system. This means that we either have system-lock-in (we are bound to the same system because changing system means also changing phones, which makes it prohibitively expensive to break away) or vendor-lock-in (we are bound to the same vendor because the phones are only usable with systems from the same vendor, sometimes only within a particular range of systems).
Time and technology, however, have changed the consumer telephony landscape, with the flag-bearer being the Open-Standards-based IP PBX. The point of the “IP” in this new era is that the phone calls are delivered using the Internet Protocol as the underlying transport technology.
PBX phone systems are available as hosted or virtual solutions and as on-premise solutions to be run on your own hardware.
This image gives us an idea of what an IP-PBX system allows in terms of connectivity and reachability.
With a traditional PBX, you are typically constrained to a certain maximum number of outside telephone lines (trunks) and to a certain maximum number of internal telephone devices or extensions. Users of the PBX phone system (phones or extensions) share the outside lines for making external phone calls.
Switching to an IP PBX brings with it many benefits and opens up possibilities, allowing for almost unlimited growth in terms of extensions and trunks, and introducing more complex functions that are more costly and difficult to implement with a traditional PBX, such as:
3CX has established itself as the leading IP-PBX manufacturer, ticking all the checkboxes for any business looking for enterprise-grade features.
The first thing that springs to mind when you think of quality web design is a professional agency, right? And while top companies largely do a great job, they can be eye-wateringly expensive.
Luckily, there is another way: website builders and ecommerce platforms. These are DIY online tools that allow you to create and design your own website – without needing to know a single line of code!
Naturally, there are tons of options out there – of varying quality – but we’ve put in the legwork and researched the best on the market. Through a combination of expert research and thorough testing, we can now reveal the best options for designing your very own site.
Below, we’ll run through the top three options for both regular websites and online stores. First, though, let’s address the elephant in the room: WordPress.
What about WordPress?
WordPress.org is a self-hosted, open-source CMS (content management system) – but all you really need to know is that it’s the most popular platform for designing a website.
WordPress gives you total control over the look and feel of your website, and is technically free to use. We say this because, in order to get your website live, you’ll actually need to pay for web hosting, security, a domain name, and any additional plugins or themes you need.
The biggest issue with WordPress, though, is that it’s not really suitable for the average Joe. Unless you’re comfortable with code – or have the budget to hire a professional developer – WordPress will prove near-impossible to use.
For this reason, we’d recommend that people who are building their own site stick to website builders and ecommerce platforms.
Designing Websites: Website Builders
Unless you’re looking to sell online, website builders are the most effective way for non-tech whizzes to create their own website. If an online store is what you’re after, skip to our ecommerce platforms section.
From our expert research, we’ve been able to establish the 10 best website builders available to you today. All cater to different needs, but for a general overview, take a look at our quality scale below:
Wix
Wix Pros
Wix Cons
Highly intuitive and easy-to-use editor
Can’t switch templates after your website goes live
Great value for money
May have to spend more on third party apps to scale your website
Strong help and support features
The sheer choice and amount of customizable options can be overwhelming
The builder our users were most likely to recommend
Wix is generally regarded as the best website builder on the market. Its easy to use drag-and-drop editor gives you total creative control, allowing you to add in all your content and position it wherever you see fit.
There’s also a choice of 510 professionally designed templates, a bunch of amazing features which come built-in, and a huge app store where you can install any extras you may need.
From thoroughly testing the platform ourselves, we can confirm Wix lives up to the hype. Have a look at our final research scores and see for yourself:
4.7out of 5
Top Choice
Ease of Use
4.5 out of 5 stars
Features
4.5 out of 5 stars
Design Flexibility
4 out of 5 stars
Help and Support
5 out of 5 stars
Value For Money
4.5 out of 5 stars
Customer Score
5 out of 5 stars
We also arranged for regular people, just like you, to sit down with Wix and attempt to design their own website. These volunteers were blown away by just how quick and easy Wix was to use, as well as the sheer choice of features on display. Here’s what they had to say:
“I was genuinely surprised that it was that quick [to design a website]. I didn’t think that it would all get done in an hour.”
“I like the side menu where you can add images and apps etc. because it was simple and easy to navigate.”
Wix is the best website builder on the market. Sign-up to its free plan and see what you make of it.
Wix Editor vs Wix ADI – Learn about the different ways you can create a Wix website.
Squarespace
Squarespace Pros
Squarespace Cons
Best quality templates in terms of design and flexibility
Limited number of price plans
Best quality features of any builder on the market
Not totally beginner friendly
Full customization control without the need for coding
Squarespace is a website builder that oozes class, and comes with a glossy, premium feel.
Squarespace prides itself on its templates. Their cutting-edge designs make them perfect for anyone in a creative field, such as photographers, artists, or graphic designers.
Squarespace also comes with an array of quality features. Here you can see how it scored in our research for all the major categories:
4.3out of 5
Ease of Use
3.5 out of 5 stars
Features
4 out of 5 stars
Design Flexibility
5 out of 5 stars
Help and Support
4 out of 5 stars
Value For Money
3 out of 5 stars
Customer Score
4.5 out of 5 stars
Squarespace proved a real hit with our users, too. Here’s just a couple of their thoughts:
“My website looks really clean and fresh. I think a lot of that is down to how well the template I chose is designed.”
“It’s a huge challenge to create a site by yourself unless you’re a designer, so the fact that the templates have industry-specific features is a huge benefit. I’d say that’s one of the most important factors [when designing a website].”
Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial. Discover why creatives love it so much.
Best for small businesses, with all the basic tools you need to build a great business site
Drag-and-drop customization is limited – unless you’re confident with code
Cool customizable templates
No personal restore option, so if your site goes down, you’re totally reliant on the Weebly support team
Really helpful SEO guides in Weebly’s help and support center
No ADI option (short for Artificial Design Intelligence, this is where a website builder uses information you provide to automatically create a site for you)
Weebly is marketed as a website builder for all, but really, it specializes in small business websites. It has a great range of templates to choose from, and a drag-and-drop editor that’s pretty easy to get to grips with.
Weebly really comes into its own when you start looking at its features – there’s hundreds to choose from, and most of them are brilliant! For a closer look at where Weebly’s strengths lie, take a look at our scores:
4.1out of 5
Ease of Use
3.5 out of 5 stars
Features
4.5 out of 5 stars
Design Flexibility
4 out of 5 stars
Help and Support
3.5 out of 5 stars
Value For Money
4.5 out of 5 stars
Customer Score
5 out of 5 stars
Our users who tested Weebly really liked how it helped them structure their site, and how it showed them that anyone really can build their own website:
“I think Weebly’s templates are a good way of introducing you to the structure and presentation of a website.”
“Overall, it was really easy to use, and kind of debunks the myth that it’s really, really difficult [to build a website].”
Weebly’s free plan lets you ‘try before you by’. Take a look at what all the fuss is about.
Ecommerce platforms work in a very similar way to website builders, but they’re specifically designed to help you set up an online store. Some are purpose-built just for ecommerce, while others (like Wix) are website builders that have ecommerce functionalities.
Shopify
Shopify Pros
Shopify Cons
Sell across multiple channels, including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon and eBay
You have to create your storefront between the editor and dashboard, meaning you’ll have to flick between the two
Brilliant inventory system which helps you manage your store
Only platform to enforce its own transaction fee with Shopify Payments
Came first in our research for sales features and customer score
Content doesn’t automatically reformat if you switch to a different theme
Shopify stands head and shoulders above its peers as the best ecommerce platform. It has a range of themes which are all designed with your products in mind, and more sales features than you can shake a stick at.
Where Shopify really excels, though, is away from your website. The platform allows you to broaden your online store’s reach by tapping into different channels, and by selling across various marketplaces and social media networks.
Here you can see how Shopify performed in our ecommerce platform testing:
4.7out of 5
Top Choice
Ease of Use
4 out of 5 stars
Design Flexibility
4 out of 5 stars
Sales Features
5 out of 5 stars
Website Features
4.5 out of 5 stars
Help and Support
4.5 out of 5 stars
Value For Money
3.5 out of 5 stars
Customer Score
5 out of 5 stars
Shopify is slightly different to website builders in that you predominantly work from a dashboard, rather than an editor.
Because there is so much more to consider with online stores – like marketing, inventory, and shipping – it makes sense that you have a hub to manage everything from, including your website’s design.
Shopify’s 14-day free trial lets you get a real feel for the platform before deciding whether to invest
Although Wix can’t rival Shopify when building a ‘pure’ online store, it’s perfect for people who just want to have a store section on their website.
Anyone who sells products on the side could benefit from Wix. If you’re in a band, for example, the main purpose of your site will pro
bably be to provide fans with tour information and take bookings for gigs.
However, you may also want to sell merchandise, such as tour tops, albums, and branded instruments. Wix makes it easy to either build an online store from the off, or add in a store section further down the line.
Here are Wix’s ecommerce-specific scores from our research:
4.3out of 5
Ease of Use
4 out of 5 stars
Design Flexibility
4.5 out of 5 stars
Sales Features
3 out of 5 stars
Website Features
4 out of 5 stars
Help and Support
5 out of 5 stars
Value For Money
4.5 out of 5 stars
Customer Score
4.5 out of 5 stars
Squarespace and Weebly also offer online store pricing plans, so if you just want the option to sell online, it’s worth having a look around.
Use Wix’s platform free of charge and see whether it’s worth upgrading to the online store plans.
Wix eCommerce Review– Discover why Wix is the best website builder for ecommerce.
Wix vs Shopify – Learn more about the difference between the two platforms.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce Pros
BigCommerce Cons
Most scalable ecommerce platform
Hard for ecommerce beginners to get to grips with
More built-in features than any competitor
No mobile app to run your store on the go
Lets you sell across multiple channels, including Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest
Fantastic SEO tools
Between Shopify and Wix, BigCommerce is far more similar to the former. It’s designed solely for selling online, and is widely regarded as one of the best platforms to create an online store with.
One thing BigCommerce has over Shopify is the amount of built-in features it has. With Shopify, you may end up spending far more than just the standard monthly fee to install a whole bunch of apps – many of which are free to use with BigCommerce.
On the flip-side, BigCommerce is undoubtedly harder to use than Shopify. Some of the terms it uses are quite technical, and the actual design of your site can get quite complex – meaning it’s not exactly a beginner-friendly platform.
Still, BigCommerce more than held its own through our research testing:
4.2out of 5
Ease of Use
3.5 out of 5 stars
Design Flexibility
3.5 out of 5 stars
Sales Features
4.5 out of 5 stars
Website Features
4.5 out of 5 stars
Help and Support
3.5 out of 5 stars
Value For Money
4 out of 5 stars
Customer Score
3.5 out of 5 stars
We’d see BigCommerce as a platform for those who are both more technically skilled and budget-conscious. It’s really designed for SMEs, so anyone just looking to sell a few products a month will be better off with a website builder that has ecommerce functionality.
Just a heads up, BigCommerce is currently offering up to three months free when you sign up for a new plan! Go to the BigCommerce website to see this offer live.
BigCommerce offers a 15-day free trial for you to find your feet.
Although most complex computer issues at work can often be solved by the business IT support team, there are many other small, but common, issues that occur on a regular basis on a personal computer. The good news is that many problems with computers have simple solutions, and learning to recognise a problem and fix it yourself will save you a lot of time and money. The following are the top 10 common computer problems that you shouldn’t panic over.
1. The Computer Won’t Start
A computer that suddenly shuts off or has difficulty starting up could have a failing power supply. Check that the computer is plugged into the power point properly and, if that doesn’t work, test the power point with another working device to confirm whether or not there is adequate power.
2. The Screen is Blank
If the computer is on but the screen is blank, there may be an issue with the connection between the computer and the screen. First, check to see if the monitor is plugged into a power point and that the connection between the monitor and computer hard drive is secure. If the problem is on a laptop, then you may need to get a professional to fix it as some of the internal wires may be worn.
3. Abnormally Functioning Operating System or Software
If the operating system or other software is either unresponsive or is acting up, then try restarting your computer and run a virus scan. To avoid having this happen, install reliable anti-virus software.
4. Windows Won’t Boot
If you are having troubles booting Windows, then you may have to reinstall it with the Windows recovery disk.
5. The Screen is Frozen
When you computer freezes, you may have no other option than to reboot and risk losing any unsaved work. Freezes can be a sign of insufficient ram, registry conflicts, corrupt or missing files, or spyware. Press and hold the power button until the computer turns off, then restart it and get to work cleaning up the system so that it doesn’t freeze again.
6. Computer is Slow
If your computer is slower than normal, you can often fix the problem simply by cleaning the hard disk of unwanted files. You can also install a firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware tools, and schedule regular registry scans. External hard drives are great storage solutions for overtaxed CPU’s, and will help your computer run faster.
7. Strange Noises
A lot of noise coming from your computer is generally a sign of either hardware malfunction or a noisy fan. Hard drives often make noise just before they fail, so you may want to back up information just in case, and fans are very easy to replace.
8. Slow Internet
To improve your Internet browser performance, you need to clear cookies and Internet temporary files frequently. In the Windows search bar, type ‘%temp%’ and hit enter to open the temporary files folder.
9. Overheating
If a computer case lacks a sufficient cooling system, then the computer’s components may start to generate excess heat during operation. To avoid your computer burning itself out, turn it off and let it rest if it’s getting hot. Additionally, you can check the fan to make sure it’s working properly.
10. Dropped Internet Connections
Dropped Internet connections can be very frustrating. Often the problem is simple and may be caused by a bad cable or phone line, which is easy to fix. More serious problems include viruses, a bad network card or modem, or a problem with the driver.
Tech Tip: Tired of your old bulky computer? Switch to next-gen virtual PC such as citrix xendesktop with an affordable xendesktop cost from CloudDesktopOnline with features such as remote access to windows applications and data from anywhere on any device (PC/Mac/Linux/android/iOS). You can also access complete MS Office suite on the same xendesktop by visiting O365CloudExperts.com powered with 24*7*365 days impeccable technical support from Apps4Rent.com.
Fair Value is the appropriate price for the shares of a company, based on its earnings and growth rate also interpreted as when P/E Ratio = Growth Rate. Estimated return represents the projected annual return you might expect after purchasing shares in the company and holding them over the default time horizon of 5 years, based on the EPS growth rate that we have projected.
Fair Value
XX.XX
Undervalued
12% Est. Return
Research that delivers an independent perspective, consistent methodology and actionable insight
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