Greetings,

As I mentioned in my previous blog post about 3.2, one of the new features that we wanted to add to version 3.2 of the Hosted PBX was a corporate chat service. I am pleased to announce that the implementation of this service has been completed, so we will definately be bringing this new option to our customers with our next major release.

If your company is already using AIM, IRC or some other messaging protocol, then you already recognize the value that chat or messaging can bring. Now you can have that same value without the hassle of maintaining your own messaging server or the risk of sending important information without encryption. With just a few clicks, you can enable secure, real-time communication between staff members. One on one chat to clarify that last email or voicemail, group chat for strategy planning, peer to peer file transfer can all be invaluable tools that you will be able to take advantage of at no additional charge.

DLS has decided on the XMPP (jabber) protocol for our messaging service. This is the big up-and-comer for chat protocols, so expect to see a lot of expanded functionality in clients in the future. Some of the additional client features that we have found to be under development already are whiteboard applications, integrated SIP functionality, and more.

This platform will give the Hosted PBX a lot of options for cross protocol integration in future releases including things like automated presence awareness based on call status and follow-me routing based on user presence, so look for more features to come.

We still have more new features that we are working on for 3.2, so I’ll be back with more news soon.