3CX has had a very busy year where they’ve introduced lots of new features, changes, and improvements to their IP PBX. As NZ is winding down for Christmas, 3CX continues to serve up excitement with the new update 6 Beta for v18. This next update is bringing significant changes, which have been months in the making. While it’s an update, it’s almost like a new major edition! We have our test system updated and are taking it for a spin. This is a beta version and not suitable for production systems; therefore only recommended for testing purposes at this stage.
Let’s look at why v18 update 6 Beta is one to talk about!
SBC Capable Phones Capability
You can use selected models of phones as a phone and as an SBC. Up to ten phones can be proxied, and the setup is much simpler compared to having a separate dedicated SBC device. This is ideal for small businesses and will suit the NZ market well.
SBC Supported phone models:
Yealink – T53W, T54W, T57W
Fanvil – V62, V64, X4U-V2, X5U-V2, X6U-V2, X7-V2, X7C-V2, X210-V2, X210i-V2
Roles Feature
7 different user roles have been defined that dictate what specific users can do within the “Admin” tab that is within the WebClient. These roles will not apply to the management console.
The roles are:
User Role: basic and can see the presence of other Users.
Receptionist: behaves as a traditional reception would.
Group Administrator: able to access and do some configuration in the “Admin” area, but some limitations apply.
Manager: can do a lot of management configuration as a manager would.
Owner: can do everything that a group administrator and manager can. Intended for the owner of a company or the owner of a department.
System Administrator: able to see everything for all the groups and all SIP trunks but some limitations apply.
System Owner: can do everything (applies to dedicated instances only).
These role additions allow the specific departments in an organisation to carry out their roles more effectively. It defines and differentiates each of its respective tasks.
For a full description of the roles and their limitations, please refer to 3CX’s blog on the Alpha release here: https://www.3cx.com/blog/releases/v18-update-6-alpha/.
A key thing to be aware of is that at least one user extension must be set as either a System Administrator or an Owner for the roles to be able to be assigned. If the System Administrator or Owner does not have an extension at present, it will need to be created and the role assigned.
New Group functionality
A group has become more powerful now with the ability for each to have individualised customisations. For example, a group can have its own configured time zone & language and office hours. This allows groups to be as unique and individual as they need to be for the smooth operation of a business.
For teams working in different time zones or languages you can tailor these settings to best suit each of these groups in their time zones or language.
It is also beneficial for a larger install that is spread out across multiple physical office locations, as the groups can be used to separate routing, SIP trunks and more. This makes for much easier management.
Improved WebClient experience
There are a lot of new features added to the WebClient, as shown below.
The “Admin” tab has 5 new additions.
Several configuration options from the management console have been added to the admin area of the WebClient. To be able to access these options, you need to be either a System Admin, System Owner, Group Admin, Owner, or Manager. For 3CX partners that run their VoIP as an MSP service, you can set yourself as the Owner and have full control of the functionality and configuration.
More configurable Voice and Chat options.
Via the Admin tab, setting up voice and chat becomes easier as you can configure trunks, SBCs and configure WhatsApp and Chat all from the WebClient. As the 3CX partner, you can decide what functions you control or your customer controls.
The language is also evolving as “Status” has changed to “Call Forwarding under Settings. The Status Scheduler has also been renamed to Switch Status.
The name changes paint a clearer picture of the functions that they serve.
In the WebClient with Admin rights, you can now add a user as well as provision the phone for the new user or existing users.
For each extension within the Group you are managing, you have the option to configure 3CX Talk, Phones, BLF, Call Forwarding, Schedule office hours and call recording options.
We can see that phone provisioning is now headed for a streamlined approach to allow for a secure method of provisioning. In the Beta announcement, 3CX has mentioned they are looking at secure en masse provisioning, so watch this space!
These options are still available in the management console, so if you are an MSP, then no cause for concern as you can still configure these in the management console or set yourself up as the Owner for the 3CX instance.
Just be aware to assign the roles and train staff that will have access to these features, as you would not want someone who does not have much experience with the configurations to go in and make changes.
With update 6 Beta, we can start to see the future that 3CX is paving for the next generation of their IP PBX. To read the Changelog of the Beta, visit this link. It is safe to say that there are more impressive things heading our way in 2023, but what will they be?
Would you like to know more? Reach us at uc@sofsol.co.nz.