This December just passed, 3CX released a new update for v16 as an early Christmas present, including some additional much sought-after features!
BLF Configuration
If you’ve been using 3CX for some time, you may be familiar with the Busy Lamp Field (BLF). A BLF is a light on a physical IP phone that indicates whether another extension is busy or available to take a call. While some IP phones may vary, generally the light will be displayed green when an extension is available, and red when not.
The release of the Alpha 2 update now allows users to set up their own BLFs from the Web Client settings, with provisioning being as simple as restarting the phone.
Call Management
Call management is now easier with a new switchboard view in the web client.
Those managing the call queues can easily access statistics on both an individual level and whole queues, as well as new shortcuts added for quick logging in and out of agents.
3CX Instance Manager
New to v16, the 3CX Instance Manager allows 3CX and licensed resellers monitor and manage installs on Linux machines.
This management tool is based on their own internal tools, and allows your managed provider to monitor resource usage, maintain updates and ensure reliability of the IP PBX.
Control of what is monitored and shared with the managed provider or 3CX is determined by the phone system administrator to ensure data privacy.
Other Updates
- Journaling and CRM integrations have been extended, with new contacts added to your integrated CRM by 3CX automatically.
- Voicemail Transcription has been updated and moved to Google Speech API, making for a more reliable service.
- Performance and security has been upgraded significantly in Alpha 2 with built-in support for HTTPS/2 in the nginx web server.
- PBX setup has been simplified, allowing you to import and assign extensions to pre-existing DIDs via CSV.
Try it out
This week 3CX released an update to their award-winning IP PBX – the Alpha update, 3CX v16.
While the current release is only for evaluation purposes, we’re certainly excited about the large number of new features and improvements to come.
Features updated/ added
Office 365 integration with 3CX has been improved, with the ability to sync users contacts and Outlook calendar to their 3CX extensions. Presence information will be automatically updated based on the users Outlook calendar appointments.
Queue options have been extended, with options to set up skill-based routing of calls.
The 3CX IVR feature has been extended, now with scriptable & DTMF code-based actions available.
Scalability has been improved for the larger call centres with a queue engine restructure.
The reporting features have also been improved in the Alpha update.
3CX Applications
The 3CX Android, iOS and web applications have also had improvements made, ensuring the extension of the PBX to other devices runs smoothly.
The chat feature on the Android & iOS applications has been improved, with features such as new emojis, feedback notifications, a chat search and the ability to easily send documents and images from the chat interface.
The UI of both the web and smartphone applications has been updated and simplified, and support for new headsets has been added.
WebMeeting
WebMeeting has had its own update this week, however in the 3CX IP PBX update we are now able to join meetings from a phone by calling an external conference number, or the conference extensions (700).
Security
Security of an IP PBX is often one of the major concerns when a business is deciding whether to move to VoIP. 3CX have made a number of updates to their already secure system, and the Alpha update is said to be the most secure release yet.
IP Blacklist Import & Export – Easily export your IP Blacklist from one PBX and import it to another, saving time and stress when setting up a new IP PBX.
Auto-Updating Blacklist – 3CX manages a list of blocked IPs, and you may choose to auto-update your IP blacklist with theirs to ensure you’re always secure from the latest threats.
Restrict the Management Console by IP – Add an extra level of security to your IP PBX by ensuring only the IP addresses you know and use can access the 3CX Management Console.
Checks & Warnings – Weak extension security will now trigger checks and notifications.
Technical Details
- Latest Postgres DB version
- OpenSSL to 1.0.2o
- Built using VS2017 compilers
- .NET Core framework update
- GCC 6
- Debian 9 “Stetch”
