Multiple operation modes

[KineticDC]

Coming from the PBX world, most phone systems I have worked with have at least 4 operation modes. (day/night/day2/night2). Some even have 8. This provides flexibility in routing calls throughout different parts of the day. 3CX only has two operation modes: in and out of office hours. I have a situation where customer requires calls to be routed to three different destinations throughout a day:

8:00-19:00 - calls ring queue in 3CX
19:00 - 20:00 - calls must divert to external number A
20:00 to 8:00 - calls must ring 3CX IVR with option to ring external number B

I had no issues with the customer's old NEC system doing this, but with 3CX this seems to be a challenge as there is only one night mode. Does anyone have a tip how to do this?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Saqqara]

If you have Pro or Enterprise License, use call flow designer
https://www.3cx.com/docs/manual/call-flow-designer-manual/

 

[YiannisH_3CX]

Hello @KineticDC

As @Saqqara suggested you can use the call flow designer to create a custom call flow that fits your needs. You will need a Pro and Enterprise licence to do so.

 

[VoIPTools]

Just to expand on what others have proposed, you will have to route inbound calls to a Call Flow Designer (CFD) application (specialized queue extension). The CFD will need to look at the current date/time and then transfer the call to the appropriate extension. If you have multiple DIDs with different time requirements, the CFD can look at the number the caller dialed, and then apply the appropriate routing logic.

 

[craigreilly]

And you could probably use lookups for the time of day so if it needed a change you would not have to restart the Queue Services? And - if the lookup fails to use precoded times?
I know this might slow things down a bit...

 

[VoIPTools]

Craigreilly,

Absolutely, you could drive the schedule and routing via a database. The table, for example, could have the inbound DID, the dates / times, and the routes specified. And you are right, that would eliminate the need to update the CFD and restart the Queue Manager service. You could create a web interface to modify the settings too. It all depends on how elaborate you want to get with a solution. For example, we use a web-based calendar in our On Call Manager add-on that makes it simple to setup recurring schedules, holidays, etc. If you have the time and will, just about anything is possible. Frankly, that's precisely why we selected 3CX as our PBX because the development platform (CFD and APIs) is awesome. If you can think of it, you can probably build it.