3CX has just released v16 Update 4 Beta. This is hot on the heels of the Alpha release, a couple of weeks ago. Along with bug fixes they have included new functionality around backup protocols and the web client. The 3CX web client now has a plugin available for users on Chrome web browsers. This allows users to receive a call, regardless of whether their Chrome browser is minimised or closed. This will greatly assist users who don’t have the web client set to a default opening tab, or may have it minimised to focus on a given task. It is available via the Google Chrome Web Store and takes just a couple of clicks to install. We are extremely excited to see the new functionality that Update 4 brings to 3CX phone users’ experience.
Google made a major change regarding applications running with their Cloud systems. Previously, 3CX could interface with Google Drive to facilitate an easy, offsite backup – for customers with a Google account. These recent changes however, made it extremely difficult to support 3CX customers. The Beta introduces new ways to backup. It adds support for FTPS, FTPES, SFTP (SSH) and finally, the most requested SMS protocol (Hello NAS and mapped drives!). These new abilities allow customers to utilise existing network shares for backups – whether that is on a server filer or a mapped NAS box. The SFTP and FTPS add enhanced security for sending backups offsite. The Beta also introduces a “Migrate Archive” tool to take the pain out of migrating. It takes the archives sitting in the existing Google Drive, and pulls them locally to the phone system ensuring no data loss. They have also created guideline documentation around using this, which is an excellent resource to migrate existing archives.
Besides improving DNS resolution to better handle Invite/ACK with specific VoIP providers, there are now templates for the recently released Grandstream GRP series of carrier phones. 3CX templates include support for GRP 2612, 2613, 2614, 2615 and 2616 models. These are an excellent addition to the Grandstream range. They feature unified firmware across phones, swappable face-plates to have a company logo added, PoE capability with dual gig pass-through and dual firmware images for extra security and reliability. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for the Update 4 release. Stay tuned as we learn more!
One final reminder – Update 4 is a Beta and not recommended yet for production systems. However, if you’d like to know more about offsite backups with 3CX, reach out via voip@sofsol.co.nz today.