What Is a Cloud PBX?

A cloud-based private branch exchange (PBX) is a modern way for companies to communicate and route calls via the internet. Learn what to look for in a cloud PBX system.

In the evolving world of business phone systems, a cloud-based private branch exchange (PBX) is a modern way for companies to communicate and route calls via the internet. Cloud PBX systems often replace costly on-premises PBX hardware that uses traditional telephone equipment and phone service providers to handle voice communications. 

Cloud PBX is often used interchangeably with hosted PBX because a third party manages the equipment; however, there are significant differences. Cloud-based phone systems are typically implemented for their cost-savings potential and advanced calling features, including auto-attendants, call routing, mobile device support, voicemail to email, free local numbers, call recording and post-call notes.

If you’re considering a cloud PBX for your business, here’s what you need to know.

FYI

Cloud PBX is a type of business phone system often used interchangeably with terms such as “hosted PBX,” “IP PBX” and “virtual PBX.”

How does cloud PBX work?

Unlike a traditional telephone system, which uses copper landlines to transmit voice data, cloud PBX uses your business broadband connection to make communication possible. With cloud or hosted systems, voice data from your device is transformed into encrypted data packets that are sent through your internet service provider’s network to establish a connection and maintain the call. 

Your service provider owns and manages all major equipment in a cloud PBX system. You are responsible for providing an internet-connected device or IP phone to connect to the internet.

Cloud PBX vs. on-premises PBX

For business owners, one of the most significant differences between cloud PBX and on-premises PBX is the hardware’s location. On-premises PBX systems require onsite hardware and IT maintenance that comes at the business’s expense. However, there are several other notable differences between these two phone systems to consider.

Cloud PBX	On-premises PBX
Data is stored and managed in the cloud with no onsite hardware required.	You own and manage your onsite telecom hardware and data.
You can use IP phones and internet-connected devices to make and receive calls anywhere.	You can use traditional desk phones to make and receive calls from a fixed location.
It integrates with popular business software and tools for unified communications.	It integrates with CRMs, online tools and can als control facility access control devices.
It’s perfectly suited for companies with remote teams.	Can help both on site and remote workers.
There are minimal to no upfront or maintenance costs other than installation.	There are minimal up front costs other than installation.
There are monthly subscription fees in perpetuity for each user.	There’s the potential for lower monthly long-term costs as a result of owning your equipment.

Virtual PBX vs. cloud PBX

Virtual and cloud PBX systems are similar because neither needs the onsite hardware that on-premises systems require. A virtual PBX is implemented to route incoming calls using interactive voice response (IVR) or auto-attendants. 

This widely used technology lets callers interact with prerecorded messages through their dial pad to choose where the call should be routed. For example, if you’re calling your internet service provider, you might choose from billing and technical support options. This feature is also available with cloud PBX systems. 

Virtual PBX systems are typically used at small businesses that don’t spend much time on the phone and don’t want to pay for a complete business phone system. Cloud PBX solutions can be found in companies of all sizes and industries where telephone communications and video conferencing are essential for conducting business.

Bottom Line

When choosing a business phone system, note that a virtual PBX is a component of a cloud PBX system.

Pros and cons of cloud PBX

The benefits and cost-saving potential of cloud PBX generally outweigh its disadvantages. However, cloud PBX phone systems are not perfect for every business in every location.

Pros

• It has low upfront costs.
• There’s no equipment to maintain.
• It provides flexibility for remote workers.
• It has a wide range of useful features and tools.
• It typically includes voice, video, chat and SMS communications.
• It integrates with other popular business applications, including CRM software.

Cons

• Your call quality is only as good as your internet connection.
• Your employees may need training on advanced features.
• Network routers may need fine-tuning to support cloud telephony.
• You’ll need an annual or monthly service plan that’s most likely priced per user.

What to look for in a cloud PBX provider

Most cloud PBX providers offer similar monthly and annual pricing structures, advertised uptimes that exceed 99.9%, and a wide range of integrations that can incorporate your new phone system into other software applications and tools your company uses daily. 

With so much similarity between providers, shoppers should focus on the features they would utilize the most with a cloud-based phone system and make sure the move to cloud PBX doesn’t negatively impact the way their employees work.

FYI

A cloud PBX system offers remote workers greater flexibility, which can boost remote work productivity.

Here are some important factors to consider:

1. Integrations: Integrations are a great place to start when you’re exploring cloud-based phone system providers. Most businesses are locked into several popular software applications, making it worthwhile to focus your search on the cloud PBX providers that will fit seamlessly into your existing toolset. Otherwise, your seemingly cost-effective phone solution may lead to additional expenses if you need to migrate to a different CRM system, for example.
2. Price: Price is the second area to examine. Large companies should take the time to call a few cloud-based phone service providers to inquire about discounted pricing with an enterprise plan. Generally speaking, you’ll be able to find a lower rate by committing to an annual service plan instead of a recurring monthly payment. It’s worth noting that fees are typically charged per user.

3. Flexibility: Plan flexibility is another essential aspect to consider. Not everyone in your business likely needs the same features in a phone system. Many businesses that are building a sales team or using remote customer service agents may need higher-priced advanced calling features. On the other hand, in-office support staff may need only the most basic, entry-level calling features.
4. Support: Customer support can be critical, depending on your team’s experience with cloud-based software. Many cloud PBX providers offer 24/7 support with every subscription plan; however, some companies may limit support hours with their lower-cost and entry-level plans.
5. Hardware: Hardware such as IP desk phones, conference phones, and headsets may not be necessary for all cloud PBX users, but if you’re going to purchase a significant number of devices, you may be able to find a better deal through your phone service provider. Companies such as Nextiva offer dozens of hardware options with discounted pricing available. 

Tip

Existing businesses looking to switch to a cloud PBX phone system should prioritize integrations with the software applications they use daily, including the best CRM software.

Cloud PBX providers to consider

Our editorial team spent weeks reviewing the industry’s best business phone systems. We considered the most popular providers and identified 11 of the best options for businesses of all sizes. 

For your convenience, we’ve summarized four of our favorite business phone system providers that offer some form of cloud PBX service. It’s worth noting that many of these providers use the terms “VoIP,” “cloud PBX,” “hosted PBX” and “virtual phone systems” interchangeably. 

Pricing for this category is typically based on the number of monthly users, with discounts available for longer contract terms and larger companies with more than 20 users.

Dialpad

Dialpad is an advanced cloud PBX phone system that uses voice intelligence technology to help teams stay connected and transform business conversations into actionable data to increase efficiency and sales. 

Here are a few notable Dialpad features: 

• Unlimited calling
• Local number support in more than 50 countries
• Ring groups
• CRM integrations
• 24/7 customer support
• Desk phone support
• Number porting
• Automatic post-call notes
• Speech coaching

Pricing: Dialpad costs $15 to $25 per monthly user, with custom pricing for enterprise plans available for “business communications” products. New customers should take advantage of the 14-day free trial to get a better feel for Dialpad’s suite of features and tools. 

Read our full Dialpad review for more information.

GoToConnect

GoToConnect’s hosted PBX helps businesses migrate from a legacy phone system to a modern communications suite with more control and an expansive set of administration tools.

These are some notable features of the GoToConnect Standard plan: 

• Easy number porting
• Variety of free phone number options
• Smart call routing
• Hot desking 
• Unlimited auto-attendants, ring groups, extensions, dial plans and music queues 

These are some of GoToConnect’s advanced features: 

• Call analytics
• “Listen, whisper and barge” feature (available to supervisors) 

Pricing: GoToConnect’s three plans range from $24 to $39 per monthly user.

Nextiva

Nextiva is a reliable and modern business phone service that connects billions of conversations each year with reported uptimes of 99.999%. 

Notably, all Nextiva Business Communication plans provide 24/7 live customer support and advanced VoIP features, including these:

• Auto-attendants
• Voicemail to email
• Toll-free numbers
• Online fax capabilities
• Unlimited domestic calling 

Pricing: Nextiva costs $17.95 to $52.95 per monthly user when paid annually for large teams. Nextiva bases the pricing for its four subscription tiers on the number of users, with savings of around 25% for companies with more than 99 users. G

You’ll find seven-day trials and free demos for each of Nextiva’s Business Communication plans. You can also purchase or lease VoIP devices and save with manufacturer rebates and discounts.

Read our full Nextiva review for more information.

RingCentral

RingCentral was one of the early cloud PBX innovators, helping to lower costs, increase ROI, connect remote workers, and provide the flexibility to help businesses scale as needed. Note that RingCentral uses the terms “virtual PBX,” “hosted PBX,” “cloud PBX” and “IP PBX” interchangeably.

These are some of its standard features:

• 1,000 toll-free minutes
• Unlimited calls to the U.S. and Canada
• Voicemail transcription
• Call reports
• 24/7 support
• Auto-attendants
• Professional implementation

Add-ons include high-volume SMS and room licenses as well as additional toll-free, international, and vanity numbers.

Pricing: RingCentral costs $19.99 to $49.99 per monthly user for midsize companies when paid annually (a savings of up to 33%). Like many business phone system providers, RingCentral bases its product pricing for its four MVP tiers on the number of users. However, its entry-level Essentials plan is available only for businesses with 20 or fewer subscribers. 

Whatever subscription tier you’re interested in trying, we recommend taking advantage of the free trial for five users and two desktop phones to get a feel for RingCentral’s interface and capabilities. 

Cloud PBX FAQs

How much does a cloud PBX system cost?

Cloud PBX systems typically cost $20 to $60 per monthly user, depending on the features and services. Many hosted PBX providers offer discounts based on the number of users as well as contract length. 

Because these phone systems run on most internet-connected devices, there’s often no need to purchase anything other than inexpensive headsets to take calls. However, companies that prefer traditional telephones can purchase IP phones that look and function like desk phones, but they’re connected via Ethernet cable instead of a phone line.

Is cloud PBX a VoIP?

What are the benefits of a cloud PBX system?

A cloud PBX system is an affordable way to provide advanced telephone features to in-office and remote employees. It can improve communication across an organization and track interactions to improve customer experiences. It can also help increase performance with real-time call analysis, post-call summaries, and detailed caller identification to help provide personalized and professional service over the phone.

If you want to make phone calls over the internet and increase…

Hopefully this article has helped you understand what your of system you’ll have and all the options available that come with it.

-Chris aka carpenox

How to – Scratch install ViciBox 11 on OpenSuSE Leap 15.5 with Asterisk 16.17.0-vici

I have been asked to write up an article for a scratch install for ViciBox 11 on OpenSuSE Leap 15.5 with Asterisk 16.17-0-vici, so here it is.

zypper ar https://mirrorcache-us.opensuse.org/update/leap/15.5/oss/openSUSE:Leap:15.5:Update.repo
zypper ar https://mirrorcache-us.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/perl/15.5/devel:languages:perl.repo
zypper ar https://mirrorcache-us.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/php/openSUSE_Leap_15.5/devel:languages:php.repo
zypper ar https://mirrorcache-us.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/python/15.5/devel:languages:python.repo
zypper ar https://mirrorcache-us.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/vicidial/openSUSE_Leap_15.5/home:vicidial.repo
zypper ar https://mirrorcache-us.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/vicidial:/vicibox/openSUSE_Leap_15.5/home:vicidial:vicibox.repo
zypper ar https://mirrorcache-us.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/zippy:/jx:/packages-ready/15.4/home:zippy:jx:packages-ready.repo



zypper ref
zypper up
zypper in dahdi*
zypper in libpri*
zypper in libedit*
zypper in net-snmp*
zypper in libjansson4*

zypper install sqlite3-devel mariadb-server mariadb make patch gcc gcc-c++ subversion php php-devel php-gd gd-devel php-mbstring php-mcrypt php-imap php-ldap php-mysql php-odbc php-pear php-xml php-xmlrpc curl curl-devel perl-libwww-perl ImageMagick libxml2 libxml2-devel httpd libpcap libpcap-devel libnet ncurses ncurses-devel screen mysql-devel ntp mutt wget nano unzip sipsak sox libuuid-devel httpd php-common php-pdo mod_ssl perl-DBI perl-DBD-MySQL perl-Digest-HMAC perl-YAML perl-ExtUtils-ParseXS perl-NetAddr-IP perl-Crypt-SSLeay perl-Curses perl-DBD-Pg perl-Module-ScanDeps perl-Text-CSV perl-HTML-Template perl-IO-Compress perl-Text-Glob perl-Jcode perl-Test-Script perl-Archive-Tar perl-Test-Base perl-OLE-Storage_Lite perl-Archive-Zip perl-Net-Server perl-Convert-ASN1 perl perl-Compress-Raw-Zlib perl-Digest-SHA1 perl-Data-Dumper perl-Error perl-ExtUtils-CBuilder perl-Test-Tester perl-Parse-RecDescent perl-Spiffy perl-IO-Zlib perl-Module-Build perl-HTML-Parser perl-Net-SSLeay perl-Proc-ProcessTable perl-TermReadKey perl-Term-ReadLine-Gnu perl-Digest-SHA perl-Tk perl-Net-SNMP perl-Test-NoWarnings perl-XML-Writer perl-Proc-PID-File perl-Compress-Raw-Bzip2 perl-libwww-perl perl-XML-Parser perl-File-Remove perl-Parse-CPAN-Meta perl-Set-Scalar perl-Probe-Perl perl-File-Which perl-Package-Constants perl-Module-Install perl-File-HomeDir perl-Spreadsheet-ParseExcel perl-Mail-Sendmail perl-Spreadsheet-XLSX asterisk-perl perl-version perl-Crypt-DES perl-URI perl-Net-Daemon perl-IO-stringy perl-YAML-Tiny perl-HTML-Tagset perl-Socket6 perl-BSD-Resource perl-IPC-Run3 perl-Text-CSV_XS perl-Unicode-Map perl-Net-Telnet perl-PAR-Dist perl-Date-Manip perl-JSON perl-rrdtool lame screen iftop htop perl-GD gcc gcc-c++- bzip2 make libjansson-devel dahdi-linux-devel libxml2-tools libxml2-2 libxml2-devel libuuid-devel sqlite3-devel



perl -MCPAN -e 'my $c = "CPAN::HandleConfig"; $c->load(doit => 1, autoconfig => 1); $c->edit(prerequisites_policy => "follow"); $c->edit(build_requires_install_policy => "yes"); $c->commit'

cpan -i String::CRC Tk::TableMatrix Net::Address::IP::Local Term::ReadLine::Gnu Spreadsheet::Read Net::Address::IPv4::Local RPM::Specfile Spreadsheet::XLSX Spreadsheet::ReadSXC MD5 Digest::MD5 Digest::SHA1 Bundle::CPAN Pod::Usage Getopt::Long DBI DBD::mysql Net::Telnet Time::HiRes Net::Server Mail::Sendmail Unicode::Map Jcode Spreadsheet::WriteExcel OLE::Storage_Lite Proc::ProcessTable IO::Scalar Scalar::Util Spreadsheet::ParseExcel Archive::Zip Compress::Raw::Zlib Spreadsheet::XLSX Test::Tester Spreadsheet::ReadSXC Text::CSV Test::NoWarnings Text::CSV_PP File::Temp Text::CSV_XS Spreadsheet::Read LWP::UserAgent HTML::Entities HTML::Strip HTML::FormatText HTML::TreeBuilder Switch Time::Local MIME::POP3Client Mail::IMAPClient Mail::Message IO::Socket::SSL readline 

cd /usr/bin/
curl -LOk http://xrl.us/cpanm
chmod +x cpanm
cpanm -f File::Which
cpanm -f File::HomeDir
cpanm CPAN::Meta::Requirements
cpanm -f CPAN
cpanm -f DBD::mysql
cpanm User::Identity --force
cpanm YAML MD5 Digest::MD5 Digest::SHA1 Curses Getopt::Long Net::Domain Term::ReadKey Term::ANSIColor HTML::FormatText MIME::Decoder Mail::POP3Client Mail::Message Crypt::Eksblowfish::Bcrypt

### Create DB & Cron user
mysql
CREATE DATABASE `asterisk` DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'cron'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '1234';
GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,LOCK TABLES on asterisk.* TO cron@'%' IDENTIFIED BY '1234';
GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,LOCK TABLES on asterisk.* TO cron@localhost IDENTIFIED BY '1234';
GRANT RELOAD ON *.* TO cron@'%';
GRANT RELOAD ON *.* TO cron@localhost;
flush privileges;
exit

### Install Asterisk 16 ###
mkdir /usr/src/asterisk
wget http://download.vicidial.com/beta-apps/asterisk-16.17.0-vici.tar.gz
tar -xzvf asterisk-16.17.0-vici.tar.gz
./configure --libdir=/usr/lib64 --with-pjproject-bundled -with-jansson-bundled
make && make install && make samples && make config && make basic-pbx
/usr/share/astguiclient/start_asterisk_boot.pl

Want to upgrade to Asterisk 18? Click here

mkdir /usr/src/astguiclient
cd /usr/src/astguiclient
svn checkout svn://svn.eflo.net:3690/agc_2-X/trunk

mysql
SET GLOBAL connect_timeout=60;
use asterisk;
\. /usr/src/astguiclient/trunk/extras/MySQL_AST_CREATE_tables.sql
\. /usr/src/astguiclient/trunk/extras/first_server_install.sql
ALTER TABLE phones ALTER template_id SET DEFAULT '';
quit

/usr/src/astguiclient/trunk/install.pl
/usr/share/astguiclient/ADMIN_area_code_populate.pl
/usr/src/astguiclient/trunk/bin/ADMIN_update_server_ip.pl

nano /etc/rc.local

### paste this below: 

#!/bin/sh
#
# This script will be executed *after* all the other init scripts.
# You can put your own initialization stuff in here if you don't
# want to do the full Sys V style init stuff.

touch /var/lock/subsys/local

# OPTIONAL enable ip_relay(for same-machine trunking and blind monitoring)
/usr/share/astguiclient/ip_relay/relay_control start 2>/dev/null 1>&2

# Disable console blanking and powersaving
/usr/bin/setterm -blank
/usr/bin/setterm -powersave off
/usr/bin/setterm -powerdown

### start up the MySQL server
systemctl start mariadb.service
systemctl enable mariadb.service

### start up the apache web server
systemctl start apache2
systemctl enable apache2

### roll the Asterisk logs upon reboot
/usr/share/astguiclient/ADMIN_restart_roll_logs.pl

### clear the server-related records from the database
/usr/share/astguiclient/AST_reset_mysql_vars.pl

### load dahdi drivers
modprobe dahdi
/usr/sbin/dahdi_cfg -vvvvvvvvvvvvv

### sleep for 20 seconds before launching Asterisk
sleep 20

### start up asterisk
/usr/share/astguiclient/start_asterisk_boot.pl


############## END PASTE HERE ##################


crontab -e

### paste below:

### recording mixing/compressing/ftping scripts
#0,3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24,27,30,33,36,39,42,45,48,51,54,57 * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_CRON_audio_1_move_mix.pl
0,3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24,27,30,33,36,39,42,45,48,51,54,57 * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_CRON_audio_1_move_mix.pl --MIX
0,3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24,27,30,33,36,39,42,45,48,51,54,57 * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_CRON_audio_1_move_VDonly.pl
1,4,7,10,13,16,19,22,25,28,31,34,37,40,43,46,49,52,55,58 * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_CRON_audio_2_compress.pl --GSM
#2,5,8,11,14,17,20,23,26,29,32,35,38,41,44,47,50,53,56,59 * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_CRON_audio_3_ftp.pl --GSM

### keepalive script for astguiclient processes
* * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/ADMIN_keepalive_ALL.pl --cu3way

### kill Hangup script for Asterisk updaters
* * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_manager_kill_hung_congested.pl

### updater for voicemail
* * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_vm_update.pl

### updater for conference validator
* * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_conf_update.pl

### flush queue DB table every hour for entries older than 1 hour
11 * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_flush_DBqueue.pl -q

### fix the vicidial_agent_log once every hour and the full day run at night
33 * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_cleanup_agent_log.pl
50 0 * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_cleanup_agent_log.pl --last-24hours
## uncomment below if using QueueMetrics
#*/5 * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_cleanup_agent_log.pl --only-qm-live-call-check

## uncomment below if using Vtiger
#1 1 * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/Vtiger_optimize_all_tables.pl --quiet

### updater for VICIDIAL hopper
* * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_VDhopper.pl -q

### adjust the GMT offset for the leads in the vicidial_list table
1 1,7 * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/ADMIN_adjust_GMTnow_on_leads.pl --debug

### reset several temporary-info tables in the database
2 1 * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_reset_mysql_vars.pl

### optimize the database tables within the asterisk database
3 1 * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_DB_optimize.pl

## adjust time on the server with ntp
30 * * * * /usr/sbin/ntpdate -u pool.ntp.org 2>/dev/null 1>&2

### VICIDIAL agent time log weekly and daily summary report generation
2 0 * * 0 /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_agent_week.pl
22 0 * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_agent_day.pl

### VICIDIAL campaign export scripts (OPTIONAL)
#32 0 * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_VDsales_export.pl
#42 0 * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_sourceID_summary_export.pl

### remove old recordings more than 7 days old
#24 0 * * * /usr/bin/find /var/spool/asterisk/monitorDONE -maxdepth 2 -type f -mtime +7 -print | xargs rm -f

### roll logs monthly on high-volume dialing systems
#30 1 1 * * /usr/share/astguiclient/ADMIN_archive_log_tables.pl

### remove old vicidial logs and asterisk logs more than 2 days old
28 0 * * * /usr/bin/find /var/log/astguiclient -maxdepth 1 -type f -mtime +2 -print | xargs rm -f
29 0 * * * /usr/bin/find /var/log/asterisk -maxdepth 3 -type f -mtime +2 -print | xargs rm -f
30 0 * * * /usr/bin/find / -maxdepth 1 -name "screenlog.0*" -mtime +4 -print | xargs rm -f

### cleanup of the scheduled callback records
25 0 * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_DB_dead_cb_purge.pl --purge-non-cb -q

### GMT adjust script - uncomment to enable
#45 0 * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/ADMIN_adjust_GMTnow_on_leads.pl --list-settings

### Dialer Inventory Report
1 7 * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_dialer_inventory_snapshot.pl -q --override-24hours

### inbound email parser
* * * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/AST_inbound_email_parser.pl

################ END PASTE HERE ####################



reboot

go to http://127.0.0.1/vicidial/admin.php

I honestly have not tested this so whoever tried it please comment below any problems you had, errors or anything that was wrong. Also post if it worked without issue. Thank you

-Chris aka carpenox

P.S. – You may have to run this fix for dahdi on the latest kernel on Leap 15.5 – How to – Fix ViciBox 11 after kernel update

How to – Upgrade Asterisk 13/16 to Asterisk 18

This post will go over the steps to upgrade your asterisk from 13 or 16 to Asterisk 18. It was pretty easy except for one little bug I ran into but there’s any easy fix for it. Ok so let’s get started.

Step 1 – Download Asterisk 18 to your server.

Step 2 – Compile Asterisk

We will need Asterisk to be patched with ViciDial changes for it to work correctly. Follow this article. To compile Asterisk, first we need to go to it’s folder by typing “cd /etc/asterisk”. Once here type the following 4 commands:

./configure

make menuselect

make && make install

Step 3 – Remove old modules

Remove the 4 files listed above from the directory it tells you. For me it was:

/usr/lib/asterisk/modules

Step 4 – Restart Asterisk

Login to asterisk and restart it by doing “core restart now”. That’s it, you’re now using Asterisk 18.

If for some reason Asterisk doesn’t start up after you restart it, type “screen asterisk vvc” and of it keeps you in the screen press control+A then control+D

How to – Setup Two Factor Authentication (2FA) on your ViciDial system

This article will go over how to setup two factor authentication on your Vicidial system using the phone method. Later on I will add the SMS and Email methods.

Step 1 – Create the 2FA settings container

First we need to create the 2FA settings container that we will need to choose in system settings when we enable two factor authentication. Below is an example of how to setup a container for a phone call auth:

Step 2 – Set an email and mobile phone on the admin user

You must make sure to add an email and mobile phone to the admin user you are saying 2FA for or you will lock yourself out of the system.

Step 3 – Enable two factor authentication on system settings

The next thing we need to do is turn this feature on and set a couple variables needed for it to work. To do this go to Admin then system settings as shown below:

Now when you hit submit, it’s going to turn on 2FA and if you didn’t set it up correctly you will be locked out of the system for good or until you fix it via MySQL with the following code:

mysql -p
> use asterisk
> UPDATE system_settings SET two_factor_auth_hours='0';

If you did everything correctly you should see this when you try to login:

Hopefully this has helped you guys set this up with less headache than I went through.

Chris aka carpenox

Why do my agents say paused when they are on a live call?

Why do your agents say paused while still on a live call? The simple answer is Google. Yes Chrome has enabled a more complex JavaScript throttling which you can read more about on ViciDial’s docs section here. There’s a few ways to fix this problem. One is to just use webphones and it won’t happen. The second is to enable hidden sounds in system settings and finally, the third is to change Agent Screen Timer from “setTimeout” to “EventSource”

Option 1 – Use WebPhones(WebRTC)

Just install and use webphones which you can do following these directions.

Option 2 – Enable hidden sounds

Within System Settings you can enable a feature called hidden sounds. You set a volume which doesn’t matter because it’s silent but I chose 25 and then set the timer for how long. Then set the sound of not auto selected but choose “click_quiet”. Now with Google’s new throttling settings which will time you out as early as 10 seconds, set this to 5 as shown below:

Option 3 – Change “Agent Screen Timer”

Change the Agent Screen Timer from setTimeout to EventSource in system settings as shown below:

This can also be changed to “setTimeoutAudioLoop” of the first change didn’t help.

Hopefully one of these 3 options will help you get back to business as usual. When your ready to have a custom system built with full CRM integrations and API features gone over with you one by one figuring out how we can make your business more efficient and profitable then join my chat and one of our trips will help you get started or fill out this form and someone will reach out to you. I hope this has helped.

Chris aka carpenox

Your main objective as a salesperson is to close deals and bring in money for your company. But to do that, you need a flexible sales plan that enables you to connect with clients, earn their confidence, and finally persuade them to buy.

We will go through a variety of strategies you may use to improve your sales effectiveness and reach your objectives, all the way from social media to product demonstrations.

But first, let us look more closely at a sales plan and why it is crucial before moving on to the actual strategies themselves.

Sales Strategy Explained

A business’s methods or techniques for selling its products and services are known as a sales strategy. In order to create leads, foster connections with prospects, and close deals, the sales team will use several strategies, methods, and procedures outlined in this article.

A sales strategy can either be broad and general, highly specific and targeted, or both. While some companies could have several sales strategies for their various products, markets, or client groups, others might adopt a single sales strategy for all of their products and market regions they serve.

Benefits of Multioriented Sales Strategy

So why is having a solid sales plan so crucial? Here are just a few advantages:

• Increased effectiveness: Your sales team will be able to perform more effectively and efficiently in utilizing their time and resources if you have a clear plan in place.
• Better coordination: A sound sales strategy may assist in coordinating the aims and objectives of your sales team with that of the organization as a whole, ensuring that everyone is working towards the same end goal.
• Increased revenue: By using efficient sales methods and strategies, you may enhance the number of leads you create, the number of transactions you close, and ultimately your revenue and profits.
• Greater customer satisfaction: You may increase customer happiness by developing deeper ties with your consumers. Satisfied customers are more likely to purchase from you again or recommend your brand to others.

Types of Sales Strategies

A sales strategy is a plan that describes how a business will market and sell to its target market. There are several categories of sales tactics, each having distinct advantages and disadvantages. Let us examine some of the main categories of sales strategies and how they might help your company.

#1. Inbound Sales Strategy

An inbound sales approach uses tools like content marketing, social media marketing, search engine optimization, and such to draw potential customers to your business. Through a carefully thought-out sales process, you may, in turn, target these prospects into your clients as they show interest in your products and services.

Inbound sales strategies put a strong emphasis on giving customers value and developing trust fostering long-lasting client relationships.

#2. Outbound Sales Strategy

On the other hand, an outbound sales strategy is actively contacting potential clients through a variety of techniques, including cold calling, direct mail, and email marketing.

The objective of an outbound sales strategy is to identify and contact prospective clients who may need to become more familiar with your business or its services. If used improperly, outbound sales methods can be seen as intrusive or bothersome, even if they might be successful in generating leads and boosting revenue.

#3. Account-Based Sales Strategy

Instead of targeting a larger audience, account-based sales methods concentrate on a small number of high-value accounts or clients. This strategy entails focusing your sales and marketing efforts on the unique requirements and preferences of each customer in order to develop long-lasting connections and boost revenue.

Account-based sales strategy can be successful in markets with a lot of competition or when there is a wide range of client demands.

#4. Channel Sales Strategy

A channel sales strategy is to work in close liaison with distributors, resellers, or other businesses to market your products or services. Utilizing the skills and resources of the channel partners, channel sales strategy can assist you in reaching out to new clients, thereby broadening your market reach.

Where local knowledge is required for success or when there are complicated distribution networks in a certain industry, channel sales strategy can be successful.

#5. Direct Sales Strategy

Using your own sales team or an e-commerce platform, a direct sales approach means you sell your products or services to clients directly. With this strategy, you may have more control over the customer experience and sales process while also opening up the potential for cross-selling and up-selling.

Direct sales strategy can be successful in markets where there is strong brand awareness or when the sales process depends on interpersonal ties.

Now let us look at some techniques that can increase the conversion rates to help you close deals more effectively.

Use of Social media

Social media is an effective tool for connecting with consumers and generating leads for businesses. You may draw in new clients and develop relationships with them by developing a strong social media presence and publishing useful content.

Free Product Trials

Offering free product trials is a time-trusted sales tactic with several benefits for businesses. It helps you gain the trust of potential customers by demonstrating your belief in the product or service offering. Businesses hereby show their commitment to their product and their willingness to let customers try it firsthand, letting them make an informed decision later on.

In addition to giving potential customers an opportunity to feel the value of the product or service, free product trials also help in the early detection of any underlying issues, boosting the chances of closing out deals. In order to close the transaction, it is also necessary to follow up with potential customers to gather their feedback and address any lingering questions or issues.

Cold Calling

Cold calling, although viewed by many as outdated and failing to achieve its intended target, if done correctly, may still be a successful sales tool. Your chances of success can be significantly boosted by performing market research on potential customers and modifying your plan to match their needs.

Unlike inbound leads, cold calling offers you the chance to reach out to potential leads directly who are not yet aware of your product or service. Utilizing the information gathered from the problems faced by the target audience through direct contact, the sales team may enhance their sales pitches.

Furthermore, by engaging in real-time discussions and developing trust, sales teams may improve their odds of closing deals. Cold calling could be a refreshing change of pace in the digital era when the bulk of sales transactions takes place via social media or email.

Demonstration Videos

Videos of product demonstrations can be used to assist prospective buyers in better grasping a company’s offer. They provide the product or service with a visual representation and let buyers relate to it on a personal level, making it more memorable.

A brief demo video that emphasizes the product’s distinctive selling characteristics and includes a call to action will work best. Both the storyline and the visual presentation of the video should be interesting.

Demo videos may be used by businesses at every level of their sales process to spark interest, allay worries, and spur action from potential clients, leading to more swift closed deals.

People-First Approach

In this method, the client’s needs are given primary importance. The solutions get customized, and trust and rapport are developed for a pleasant customer experience improving the chances of closing deals in a win-win situation.

Because the sales team is able to tailor their solutions to fit each individual customer’s demands, they will be able to enhance both closure rates and customer satisfaction.

In a people-first approach, the product or service is presented as a solution to the customer’s problem rather than as a generic offering. This forges a stronger emotional connection with the client, raising the prospect of sealing the deals.

Sales consultants must actively listen, talk honestly, and show their subject-matter expertise in order to establish trust and rapport. In the eyes of the customer, this makes them appear as reliable information providers, increasing customer confidence and resulting in a more profitable transaction.

Communication that is timely and polite, value-added services and rapid resolution of any and all difficulties faced by the customer are part of the people-first approach.

Regular Follow-Up

Consistent follow-up is a key component of every sales approach. Leads frequently deliberate before making a choice. Therefore, it is important to follow up with potential consumers to stay on their minds.

To be persistent without being a nuisance, though, takes a delicate balance. Setting up and adhering to a follow-up schedule is one approach to this. Doing so helps keep your business in the minds of your potential customers without contacting or emailing prospects excessively.

Reach out to Inbound Leads within 24 Hours

Inbound leads are those that come from sources like your website or social media accounts and are frequently more qualified and active. As a result, it is crucial to contact them right away for follow-up.

According to research, contacting prospects within the first 24 hours boosts their chances of conversion by as much as 60%. Make sure you have a mechanism in place to address questions in a timely and effective manner.

Request Client Feedback

You must comprehend the wants and problems of your customer. One approach to achieve this is to solicit opinions.

Ask your consumers how you can enhance their experience. This not only demonstrates your interest in their viewpoint but also helps in pointing out your own opportunities for development.

Upsell and Cross-sell with Existing Customers

It is considerably simpler to sell to existing customers than to find new ones. Consequently, implementing an upsell and cross-sell plan is crucial.

This entails providing complementary products or services to clients who have previously made purchases from you. This can be executed by looking at client purchasing patterns and behavior to explore new sales possibilities.

Get Referrals

Referrals are an effective way to find new customers. Customers who are satisfied with your product or service will be much more inclined to recommend your products to their friends and coworkers. As a result, it is crucial to ask for recommendations.

You may accomplish this by providing rewards or just plain requesting your clients to spread the news about your product. This way, you can grow your customer base and boost revenue.

Exciting Sales Pitch

A persuasive sales presentation may be the difference between winning and losing a contract. It is crucial to craft a pitch that is not just interesting and educational but also captivating and thrilling.

Put your attention on emphasizing the advantages of your product or service and how it may alleviate customers’ problems. To establish a relationship with the customer and convince them that they require your product, use narrative storytelling.

Perfect Storytelling

In sales, storytelling is a potent tool. Stories are far easier for people to recall than numbers and facts. It might as well help that you level up your sales pitches with a perfect storytelling narrative.

An engaging narrative connects with your audience much more than a sales pitch that is barren and devoid of a storyline. Narrate a tale illustrating the problems your product or service can address for the consumer. Make an emotional connection with the customer by using emotive language and vivid pictures.

The Right Mindset

Sales is all about the mentality. You must have a positive outlook and believe in your product or service if you want to succeed in sales. Put your attention on the advantages of your product and how it may make the customer’s life better. Have faith in your abilities to close business. You will be more driven and resilient in the face of rejection if you do this.

Address Uncertainty

It is possible that many prospective buyers need clarification on your product or service. Therefore it is critical to address these worries upfront and offer assurances.

This can be accomplished by offering social evidence, such as client testimonials or case studies. To allay any worries and foster confidence, you may also provide a free trial or demonstration for your potential leads.

Create a Sense of Urgency

For closing deals, instilling a sense of urgency has its own set of incentives. This can be accomplished by providing limited-time promotions or fostering a sense of scarcity. For instance, you may state that the product is limited or offer discounts for a brief period of time.

How to Stay Ahead of the Sales Game: Innovations and AI Integrations

In addition to the strategies mentioned above, we look at how some leading brands and businesses have found success by incorporating innovative techniques. It is also worth mentioning how AI tools can positively impact the outcome of leads helping you close deals.

Here are some more innovative methods and AI integrations that can positively impact your sales strategy mix:

Social listening

Using social listening tools, businesses can mitigate problems their target audience is facing. From the information gathered, you can position your product or service as the answer to the target market’s challenges.

Collaborative selling

Collaborative selling prioritizes developing value with consumers before selling products or services. It entails closely collaborating with clients to spot chances for shared development and creating solutions that address their demands.

Outcome-based selling

Conventional sales pitches emphasize product features and benefits. Understanding your prospects’ intended outcomes and projecting your product or service as the solution are the main goals of outcome-based selling. By doing this, you shift the conversation away from pricing and focus on the value add your product or service can provide.

Here are some cutting-edge sales strategies that use AI to assist in clinching deals:

AI Chatbots

By deploying a chatbot to handle early customer queries, sales teams may spend more of their time and resources on activities that are of higher value.

Sales enablement strategy

In its simplest form, sales enablement is the act of strategically providing salespeople with the tools and resources they need to improve their performance and close more sales. Businesses can simplify time-consuming, repetitive operations like data collection by utilizing the potential of AI.

Additionally, AI can also help sales teams develop more effective replies by providing insights and suggestions, improving the whole sales enablement approach.

Real-world examples of AI-powered sales enablement solutions include:

Conversica is a virtual assistant powered by AI that can communicate with leads via email and other online channels. Conversica can send hot leads to sales professionals for follow-up by using algorithms to determine the purpose of consumer queries.

Gong is a conversation analytics tool that uses AI to review sales conversations and provide sales representatives with immediate feedback.

Salesforce Einstein GPT is touted as the world’s first generative AI for CRM applications. It embodies a suite of AI-powered sales enablement solutions that includes automated email and social media campaigns, intelligent lead routing to sales representatives, and predictive lead scoring.

InsideSales AI is a platform for AI-accelerated sales that assist sales representatives with lead prioritization, automating follow-up jobs, and predictive insights into which leads are the likeliest to convert.

SalesLoft AI algorithms can examine client behavior and offer tailored advice for sales representatives, such as the most effective time of day to contact customers or the most effective messaging tool.

To sum up, it is crucial to approach sales with a focus on the customer. Focus on developing a relationship with prospects rather than seeing them merely as a means to a goal. Learn about their objectives and needs so that you can adjust your strategy. By doing this, you may build credibility and trust with them, increasing the likelihood that they will make a purchase from you.

Conclusion

There is no one-size-fits-all sales strategy to improve conversation rates. It requires a fusion of the right mentality, successful tactics, and a readiness to change and learn from experience. You will be well on your way to increasing your sales conversion rates and closing out deals by putting into practice the tactics suggested in this article.

Optimize Outbound Calls with Predictive and Automated Dialer Software 

Every second counts when it comes to sales.

And you know time is money. This is why cloud-based predictive dialer and auto dialer software is in demand these days.

These systems help you save time and optimize outbound calls by connecting agents to quality leads while offering capabilities to enhance customer satisfaction, agent productivity, and revenue.

Previously, agents had to manually dial each phone number, wait for leads to attend the call, and manage everything in traditional systems. As a result, much of their time was spent on other stuff than their core job: selling. This is why they used to make fewer calls every day, which can negatively influence revenue.

Predictive and auto dialer software solves these issues by automating manual, repetitive tasks that include automatic dialing, managing lists, scheduling, notifications, reports, and more with lots of additional features to help you and your agents further.

In this article, I’ll discuss the software, how it can help your agents and bring more revenue and growth to your business.

Ready?

Let’s go! ?

Auto Dialer Software

Autodialer software is a system that dials phone numbers automatically for agents. It either assigns calls to available agents or plays recorded messages when someone answers the calls.

Auto dialers increase agent efficiency with automation and can manage more extensive outbound campaigns with heavy call volumes. They can also increase dial rates, aid in monitoring performance, reduce unproductive calls, and help increase conversion rates.

Most of these solutions are cloud-based and used by call centers to save time and streamline the process of connecting to prospects or customers without manual methods. It has different use cases such as telemarketing, market research, political campaigns, cold-emailing, and broadcasting payment reminders, service outages, appointment reminders, and more.

Benefits

• The software reduces agents’ idle time by assigning only quality calls to save time and increase their productivity.
• It offers better conversion rates by simplifying and accelerating complex sales processes while showing agents all the essential information about contacts.
• You get real-time insights and reporting into your call performance, agent activity, and operations so you can enhance each aspect for better performance.
• It improves your operational efficiency with the power of automation for dialing, follow-ups, reminders, and so on.
• The software helps you stay compliant and avoid the risks of penalties.

Predictive Dialer Software

Predictive dialer software is a system that can automate the dialing and matching of phone numbers. It can automate calls seamlessly to enable sales reps to track all the missed calls, busy signals, no response calls, and so on.

Predictive dialers have more capabilities than just dialing numbers automatically. They predict human activities and actions using mathematical algorithms to figure out when a prospect or customer can take the calls. In addition to that, you can dial multiple phone numbers simultaneously using them.

The primary usage of these systems is to boost agent efficiency by connecting them to the right contacts at a suitable time for more conversions. Predictive dialers are utilized in call centers, the banking sector, and more.

Benefits

• It offers intelligent call assigning to only the available agents
• The software lets you organize and manage the client database seamlessly and update it
• It works for both outbound and inbound calls
• With excellent reporting, you can track the performance of teams and agents and train them accordingly.
• It optimizes your agents, sales team, and overall organization by creating a competitive, productive environment for all the members.
• It offers automatic workload management and assignment without human interference, prejudices, or bias.

Now take a look at CyburDial and why it ranks among the top dialer systems in the market.

Why doesn’t my ViciBox 10.0.2 install work?

So it seems that there is duplicate Listen directives for apache, more specifically, targeted towards the dynamic portal. What you need to do it edit the listen.conf for apache. You can do so by copying and pasting the following command into your Linux CLI:

nano /etc/apache2/listen.conf

You should now see what you see below. You’ll notice there is 2 entries for ports 81 and 446, just remove one from each and restart apache with “service apache2 restart”. That’s it, browse to your ViciDial admin URL and login.

Listen 80
Listen 81
Listen 81

<IfDefine SSL>
<IfDefine !NOSSL>
<IfModule mod_ssl.c>

   Listen 443
   Listen 446
   Listen 446

 </IfModule>
 </IfDefine>
</IfDefine>

That’s all there is to it, you should now have a working ViciBox install. Of you have any questions, feel free to comment here or join our group chat that has over 175 members from the ViciDial forums: https://join.skype.com/ujkQ7i5lV78O <—Click here or scam the QR Code below to join.

I hope this has helped

Chris aka carpenox

How To – Fix the Perl repo for ViciBox 10(Leap 15.3)

If you’ve tried to update your ViciBox 10 system you’ll see that the Perl repo gives an error and you can’t update from that repo any longer. The reason for this is because Leap 15.3 has gone end of life(EOL) and will no longer be getting updates. The other repos will begin to die as well and your system will remain vulnerable to hackers as dialer system are high priority targets right now for ransomware groups, denialof service attackers and crypto miners. So how do you fix this issue? You upgrade to leap 15.4 following this article: How to – Upgrade OpenSuSE Leap 15.3 to 15.4.

Hopefully this helps those of you running into this problem and you’ll now be able to keep your systems secure.

Chris aka carpenox

How to – Upgrade OpenSuSE Leap 15.3 to 15.4

This article will go over how to upgrade Leap 15.3 to 15.4 since 15.3 is end of life

Step 1. Preparations – Backup everything

Keep verified backups: Do not skip this step. Before typing the following commands, you must back up all data and config files. Also, ensure your system backup is up-to-date and restorable in an emergency. The author or nixCraft is not liable for damages due to failed upgrades.

Step 2. Update OpenSUSE 15.3 packages

The openSUSE Leap version 15.3 is only available as the 64-bit release. Next, type the following zypper command to update all existing packages. To refresh a repo, enter:
$ sudo zypper ref
Outputs:

Repository 'openSUSE-Leap-15.3' is up to date.                                                     
Repository 'openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update' is up to date.                                              
Repository 'openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update-Non-Oss' is up to date.                                      
Repository 'Update repository of openSUSE Backports' is up to date.                                
Retrieving repository 'Update repository with updates from SUSE Linux Enterprise 15' metadata[done]
Building repository 'Update repository with updates from SUSE Linux Enterprise 15' cache ....[done]
All repositories have been refreshed.

Update ALL installed packages with newer versions and patches

Before the upgrade procedure can begin, apply all pending upgrades or security patches. For example:
$ sudo zypper up
Outputs:

Loading repository data...
Warning: Repository 'openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update' appears to be outdated. Consider using a different mirror or server.
Reading installed packages...

The following 10 packages are going to be upgraded:
  cups cups-client cups-config libcups2 libcupscgi1 libcupsimage2 libcupsmime1 libcupsppdc1
  libfreetype6 libqpdf26

10 packages to upgrade.
Overall download size: 8.4 MiB. Already cached: 0 B. After the operation, additional 79.8 KiB will
be used.
Continue? [y/n/v/...? shows all options] (y): y
Retrieving package cups-config-2.2.7-150000.3.35.1.x86_64    (1/10), 239.1 KiB (  3.1 MiB unpacked)
Retrieving: cups-config-2.2.7-150000.3.35.1.x86_64.rpm ......................................[done]
Retrieving package libfreetype6-2.10.4-150000.4.12.1.x86_64  (2/10), 447.3 KiB (  1.1 MiB unpacked)
Retrieving: libfreetype6-2.10.4-150000.4.12.1.x86_64.rpm ....................................[done]
....
..
Checking for file conflicts: ................................................................[done]
( 1/10) Installing: cups-config-2.2.7-150000.3.35.1.x86_64 ..................................[done]
( 2/10) Installing: libfreetype6-2.10.4-150000.4.12.1.x86_64 ................................[done]
( 3/10) Installing: libqpdf26-9.0.2-150200.3.3.1.x86_64 .....................................[done]
....
( 9/10) Installing: cups-client-2.2.7-150000.3.35.1.x86_64 ..................................[done]
Failed to try-restart cups-lpd@.service: Unit name cups-lpd@.service is missing the instance name.
See system logs and 'systemctl status cups-lpd@.service' for details.
(10/10) Installing: cups-2.2.7-150000.3.35.1.x86_64 .........................................[done]
Executing %posttrans scripts ................................................................[done]

Step 3. Reboot the server

Now note down the current Linux kernel version, type:
$ uptime
$ uname -mrs
You must reboot the Linux cloud box, using the shutdown command or reboot command:
$ sudo systemctl reboot
## OR ##
$ sudo shutdown -r now
Log in using the ssh command once system comes back online:
$ ssh ec2-user@your-aws-ec2-dns-ip-here
## OR ##
$ ssh root@your-Linode-dnsname-OR-ip-here
Then verify Linux kernel version:
$ uname -mrs
Also note down the OpenSUSE Linux version using the cat command:
$ cat /etc/os-release

Step 4. Upgrading OpenSUSE 15.3 to 15.4

Now my cloud server is fully patched. It is time to update the server to OpenSUSE version 15.4.

List the repositories

The update repository must exist and is enabled and update before upgrading to 15.3. Verify it using the zypper command as follows:
$ sudo zypper repos --uri
## OR type ##
$ sudo zypper lr -u
Output indicating that there are no 3rd party repos and Update repos are enabled on my OpenSUSE 15.3 server:

Repository priorities are without effect. All enabled repositories share the same priority.
 
# | Alias                             | Name                                                                                        | Enabled | GPG Check | Refresh | URI
--+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+---------------------------------------------------------------
1 | openSUSE-Leap-15.3                | openSUSE-Leap-15.3                                                                          | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     | http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/leap/15.3/repo/oss/
2 | openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update         | openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update                                                                   | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     | http://download.opensuse.org/update/leap/15.3/oss/
3 | openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update-Non-Oss | openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update-Non-Oss                                                           | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     | http://download.opensuse.org/update/leap/15.3/non-oss/
4 | repo-backports-debug-update       | Update repository with updates for openSUSE Leap debuginfo packages from openSUSE Backports | No      | ----      | ----    | http://download.opensuse.org/update/leap/15.3/backports_debug/
5 | repo-backports-update             | Update repository of openSUSE Backports                                                     | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     | http://download.opensuse.org/update/leap/15.3/backports/
6 | repo-sle-debug-update             | Update repository with debuginfo for updates from SUSE Linux Enterprise 15                  | No      | ----      | ----    | http://download.opensuse.org/debug/update/leap/15.3/sle/
7 | repo-sle-update                   | Update repository with updates from SUSE Linux Enterprise 15                                | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     | http://download.opensuse.org/update/leap/15.3/sle/

Verify that we can get latest OpenSUSE 15.4 version, run:
$ sudo zypper --releasever=15.4 lr -u
Here is what I see

Warning: Enforced setting: $releasever=15.4
Repository priorities are without effect. All enabled repositories share the same priority.
 
# | Alias                             | Name                                                                                        | Enabled | GPG Check | Refresh | URI
--+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+---------------------------------------------------------------
1 | openSUSE-Leap-15.3                | openSUSE-Leap-15.3                                                                          | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     | http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/leap/15.4/repo/oss/
2 | openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update         | openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update                                                                   | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     | http://download.opensuse.org/update/leap/15.4/oss/
3 | openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update-Non-Oss | openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update-Non-Oss                                                           | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     | http://download.opensuse.org/update/leap/15.4/non-oss/
4 | repo-backports-debug-update       | Update repository with updates for openSUSE Leap debuginfo packages from openSUSE Backports | No      | ----      | ----    | http://download.opensuse.org/update/leap/15.4/backports_debug/
5 | repo-backports-update             | Update repository of openSUSE Backports                                                     | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     | http://download.opensuse.org/update/leap/15.4/backports/
6 | repo-sle-debug-update             | Update repository with debuginfo for updates from SUSE Linux Enterprise 15                  | No      | ----      | ----    | http://download.opensuse.org/debug/update/leap/15.4/sle/
7 | repo-sle-update                   | Update repository with updates from SUSE Linux Enterprise 15                                | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     | http://download.opensuse.org/update/leap/15.4/sle/

In the above output results, check the last URI column). All repository links should contain 15.4 or openSUSE_Leap_15.4 as a version number. If not check if your Leap repos defined in /etc/zypp/repos.d/ are using the $releasever variable already in the URIs. For example, try the grep command:
$ sudo grep baseurl /etc/zypp/repos.d/*.repo
If you see hard-coded version 15.3 Leap version number, then you need to modify them first. This can be done using the sed command to find and replace with sed:
$ sudo sed -i 's/15.3/${releasever}/g' /etc/zypp/repos.d/*.repo
Now verify again:
$ sudo zypper --releasever=15.4 lr -u

Running the upgrade for 15.4

It is time to switch and refresh all repositories to 15.4 using the following syntax and grab the repository metadata:
$ sudo zypper --releasever=15.4 ref
For slower

Warning: Enforced setting: $releasever=15.4
Retrieving repository 'openSUSE-Leap-15.3' metadata ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................[done]
Building repository 'openSUSE-Leap-15.3' cache .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................[done]
Retrieving repository 'openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update' metadata .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................[done]
Building repository 'openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update' cache ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................[done]
Retrieving repository 'openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update-Non-Oss' metadata .................................................................................................................................................................................................................[done]
Building repository 'openSUSE-Leap-15.3-Update-Non-Oss' cache ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................[done]
Retrieving repository 'Update repository of openSUSE Backports' metadata ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................[done]
Building repository 'Update repository of openSUSE Backports' cache ................................................................................................................................................................................................................[done]
Retrieving repository 'Update repository with updates from SUSE Linux Enterprise 15' metadata ......................................................................................................................................................................................[done]
Building repository 'Update repository with updates from SUSE Linux Enterprise 15' cache ...........................................................................................................................................................................................[done]
All repositories have been refreshed.

Next, execute the following command for full distribution upgrade to 15.4 from 15.3. Please note that command must be typed from non-GUI (KDE/GNOME) mode. Hence, it is recommended you run the command from either runlevel 3 (text + network), or a virtual console (see how to switch boot target to text or GUI in systemd Linux for more info.). You can press Ctrl-Alt-F2 (all at the same time) to switch to virtual terminal 2. One can also issue the following command:
$ sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target
Let us start the distribution upgrade that will get your system to the new version:
$ sudo zypper --releasever=15.4 dup
OR first download everything on slower internet connection to avoid any problem with upgrades:
$ sudo zypper --releasever=15.4 dup --download-in-advance
Once the dup is finished, openSUSE sets the releasever variable to the new version 15.4:

Final confirmation

At the following prompt type y and hit the [Enter] key to start upgrade procedure:

The following 11 packages are going to be REMOVED:
  kernel-default-5.3.18-150300.59.87.1 kernel-default-5.3.18-150300.59.90.1 kernel-default-extra-5.3.18-150300.59.87.1
  kernel-default-extra-5.3.18-150300.59.90.1 kernel-default-optional-5.3.18-150300.59.87.1
  kernel-default-optional-5.3.18-150300.59.90.1 librsvg-lang libusbguard0 libwebkit2gtk3-lang libyui-ncurses-pkg15
  systemd-icon-branding-openSUSE
 
The following package requires a system reboot:
  kernel-default-5.14.21-150400.24.18.1
 
486 packages to upgrade, 4 to downgrade, 55 new, 11 to remove.
Overall download size: 688.7 MiB. Already cached: 0 B. After the operation, additional 51.0 MiB will be used.
 
    Note: System reboot required.
Continue? [y/n/v/...? shows all options] (y): y

The zypper command will download, install, or upgrade a total of 486 packages on my cloud server. The procedure to download and install packages takes its own sweet time. So, naturally, your Internet and cloud server speed plays a significant role. In the end, you should see an output as follows showing you must reboot the OpenSUSE server or desktop:

....
..
dracut: *** Stripping files done ***
dracut: *** Creating image file '/boot/initrd-5.14.21-150400.24.18-default' ***
dracut: *** Creating initramfs image file '/boot/initrd-5.14.21-150400.24.18-default' done ***
(403/552) Installing: kernel-default-5.14.21-150400.24.18.1.x86_64 ......................................................[done]
(404/552) Removing kernel-default-5.3.18-150300.59.87.1.x86_64 ..........................................................[done]
(405/552) Removing kernel-default-5.3.18-150300.59.90.1.x86_64 ..........................................................[done]
(406/552) Installing: util-linux-lang-2.37.2-150400.8.3.1.noarch ........................................................[done]
(407/552) Installing: systemd-network-249.12-150400.8.10.1.x86_64 .......................................................[done]
(408/552) Installing: kernel-default-extra-5.14.21-150400.24.18.1.x86_64 ................................................[done]
(409/552) Installing: grub2-systemd-sleep-plugin-2.06-150400.11.5.2.noarch ..............................................[done]
.....
..
Executing %posttrans scripts ............................................................................................[done]
There are running programs which still use files and libraries deleted or updated by recent upgrades. They should be restarted to benefit from the latest updates. Run 'zypper ps -s' to list these programs.
 
Since the last system boot core libraries or services have been updated.
Reboot is suggested to ensure that your system benefits from these updates.

Therefore, reboot the Linode or AWS cloud server using the shutdown command or reboot command as follows:
$ sudo reboot

Step 5: Verification

Make sure everything is working. First, find OpenSuse Linux Version and other info:
$ uname -mrs
$ cat /etc/os-release
$ hostnamectl

Then check your Linux server log file. For instance, use the journalctl command/tail command/dmesg command command and others:
$ sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/www.nixcraft_com_access.log
$ dmesg | more
$ journalctl -xe

Step 6: Apply any newly released updates

Finally, again use the zypper command to apply security patches, software updates and Linux kernel:
$ sudo zypper refresh
$ sudo zypper patch
$ sudo zypper update
# if a new Linux kernel installed, reboot the box
$ sudo reboot

Hopefully this will help a lot of you keep up to date and secure

Chris aka carpenox