In this update: (September 2025)
- 3CX’s Latest Product News
- Thanks Christchurch – until next time
- Liongard – 3CX Inspector Tool
- Yealink product updates
- Grandstream News
- CommBox product updates
- Fanvil product updates
- Jabra product updates
- Demo equipment
- Case studies – stories sell products!
- Join our LinkedIn UC community to see the news first
3CX Latest Product News
It’s been a big week of announcements from 3CX which started on Thursday 23rd October, when 3CX announced upcoming changes to their licensing and pricing along with exciting new AI features. The full blog can be found here, there was also an e-mail to all partners and below is an explanation of upcoming product enhancements and the many changes announced.
First, we’ll review the exciting update 8 Alpha which has been announced and is a big leap of features and functions.
Update 8 Alpha – The AI Chapter
Update 8 is shaping up to be a huge amount of development and updates. The full blog is here but we’re breaking down key elements below:
- Department/Tenant Phonebook: The much-anticipated addition of the ability to have a per department or per tenant for multi-tenant phone book is within the Alpha release.
- Receptionist Rules: The receptionist role capabilities have had a further upgrade with a new compact view panel which allows the receptionist to see more extensions and inbound calls at once. Drag and drop the calls to automatically transfer them.
- New AI powered Receptionist: leveraging OpenAI for smart call handling – the 3CX AI Receptionist is able to answer and route calls and in multiple languages. The blog has a link to the setup guide, there is also a landing page found here for sales information.
- Local Transcription Service: a key with AI is confidentiality, 3CX is enabling you to configure your own transcription engine locally.
Notes:
This may have a restriction of a 32-SC license size in the future but not yet decided. When update 8 moves to live, the 3CX cloud transcription service will move out of BETA and into a paid service.
When update 8 moves to live, the 3CX cloud transcription service will move out of BETA and into a paid service.
- Stereo Recording = Reliable Speaker Diarization: 3CX introduces the ability to track conversations of who said what by introducing stereo recording. NB: This requires the 3CX Cloud Transcription or locally installed 3CX Transcription Engine.
- VoIP Provider/SIP Trunk Checker: a new tool is introduced to test and validate SIP trunk configurations.
- New Power BI Dashboards: as anticipated these add to the Grafana options already available and there are now Power BI download templates available.
Many other enhancements: review the full blog and changelog for all of what is coming. - IMPORTANT: Alpha and Beta builds are not for production, but perfect to test inhouse.
Below are the earlier announcements including the Fair Usage Policy and Pricing info:
- AI Features – as you’re all aware 3CX is heavily invested in AI technology and version 20 was built for the future with AI in mind. Earlier this year, 3CX released their own AI engine. In update 8 Alpha which is to be announced very soon new features are coming including:
- Onboard Transcriptions – keeping your data being processed on a machine you fully control.
- Speaker Diarization – 3CX transcriptions will identify who said what on a call.
- Transcriptions will be summarised with action points sent via e-mail.
- Virtual AI Receptionist – answer and screen calls, detect spam calls, route calls to the right place and more!
- Fair Usage Policy – for years the rule of thumb when sizing a 3CX instance has been a ratio of 1:3. One simultaneous call per 3 people – when a call centre/queue are involved that ratio comes down. For quite some time 3CX has published extension/user benchmark ranges on their website and in their online calculator. 3CX will move in the future to enforce their fair usage policy but have stated no changes prior to 1st April 2026. The ratio’s they have published are:
- 1:3.75 = 4-SC Pro
- 1:5 = Small instances
- 1:5.5 = Medium instances
- 1:6 = Large instances
- Note System Extensions are not included in this calculation
Now is the time to review your customers extensions to license ratios and arrange a review of their telephony system and usage. A great time to check if the way their system was configured months or years ago is still right for their business today and talk about the new and also upcoming features. There is 6 months to get the 15% of licenses globally that are outside of these guidelines. Some examples and considerations to think about:
- Hotels – often run a very small simultaneous call count license but have a large number of rooms and take advantage of the integrated PMS (Property Management System) solutions. What happens if a fire breaks out on a floor with 25 rooms and they have an 8-SC license – only 8 people can call for help at a time? There is a Health & Safety factor to consider. Most alternative solutions will charge on a per extension or user basis at a much greater cost.
- Schools – often run on a very small license and use a lot of paging systems, have phones in every classroom. What happens in an emergency lockdown and teachers need to call to the office to report all students safe? Only 4 or 8 teachers can call at a time and delays the emergency response.
These are just a couple of examples – remember to sell the value of the 3CX Unified Communications solution – there are no restrictions in small licenses vs large licenses they’re fully functional.
- Education Discount for 32-SC+ licenses: Additional to the new Fair Use Policy, 3CX has announced that educational institutions with a 32-SC+ license will be entitled to an additional 20% off the retail value of their license. The blog is here. We are awaiting further information from 3CX on how this discount is applied to the distributor and partner and will update once these details are known. If you have an academic institution that is or will be a 32-SC+ site, please reach out so we can keep you updated.
- Hosted by 3CX 8-SC licenses: 3CX is adding an additional 2GB RAM to each instance at no additional costs. This will be implemented in the coming days and will future proof the installation – they were provisioned with 2GB and will ow be 4GB. You’ll see this reflected in the control panel in the coming days. Full info is here.
- Price Changes – 1st November 2025: 3CX has announced that new pricing will come into effect at the beginning of November which will reflect the added features and value within the licenses (Enterprise and all that new AI technology). As the Distributor we don’t have an advance copy of the pricelist – we will update our systems as fast as possible once we have that pricing. Please note that when the vendor changes the pricing, we are unable to honour quotes issued that go outside of that time of change as the vendor does not allow any grace period – if you wish to take advantage of the current pricing please do so before Friday 31st October. From early November, at your request our sales@bluechipit.co.nz can re-issue quotes for new projects and renewal licenses at the updated rates.
- Update 7 Alpha Blog – The focus in this update is around making life for the system admin easier. Amazon AWS S3 buckets are now an option for remote storage. 3CX’s own health monitoring allows for easier active monitoring of 3CX services and system metrics. A wider range of destinations for offloading data for analysis with MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server now supported. There is much more information in the blog which is linked so check it out.
- Update 7 Beta Blog – adding to the new announcements from the Alpha, the Beta introduces the Supervisor Role which allows those with these rights to view reports; manage departmental call handling without needing to give them higher rights. There are also more updates and fixes – check out the full blog.
- Update 7 Release Candidate 1 – along with fixes and improvements, support for remote archiving with Amazon AWS S3 was added. See the full blog for further info.
- Update 7 Release Candidate 2 – the final minor fixes have been added.
- Update 7 Release Candidate 3 – a few final fixes before release.
- Update 7 FINAL – the final release went live mid-October bringing all these new changes into play.
- Hotfix for update 7– this went live a few days after the release of update 7 to address a syslog logging issue.
Partner Targets & End of Year Projects
As the end of the year looms, it’s a very good time to login to your 3CX Partner Portal and check if you’re on track to retain your current partner status or if you’re close to a promotion.
For 2025, the targets for partnership were reduced as the 4-SC revenue is not included in the calculation – the targets this year are:
- Bronze = USD$1k retail value
- Silver = USD$4k retail value (was USD$5k)
- Gold = USD$20k retail value (was USD$25k)
- Platinum = USD$40k retail value (was USD$50k)
- Titanium = USD$125k retail value (was USD$150k)
New business is a key part of the 3CX Partner Program – now is definitely the time to be closing out any new projects for the end of the year. If you need advice or guidance, we’re here to assist you.
Yealink Firmware Updates for Legacy IP Phones
Yealink has released updated firmware for a number of legacy IP phones which is now supported by 3CX. Read the full blog here which includes the models that are covered.
Upgrading to v20 – v18 is fully EOL in days:
The EOL of v18 will become final very soon – any v18 instances on the Hosted by 3CX platform will automatically be updated to v20 on 29th September if not done beforehand. The mobile apps will all stop working in the coming weeks – Android end of September, iOS and the Windows Softphone are end of October. A final blog around the apps can be found here.
Important reminders before upgrading to version 20 – if you do nothing else, please ensure that you read these two very important documents:
- Upgrade from v18 to v20 Configuration Guide – this guide is kept up-to-date by 3CX and part of the Administration Manual.
- Upgrade checklist & FAQ Blog – this was released in early January 2024 to cover all the important steps you must do before proceeding with an upgrade. Remember you’re moving from Debian 10 through to Debian 12 and there is no roll back from the upgrade. License keys move from being v18 to v20 keys as part of this process.
Important reminders before upgrading to version 20 – if you do nothing else, please ensure that you read these two very important documents:
- Upgrade from v18 to v20 Configuration Guide – this guide is kept up-to-date by 3CX and part of the Administration Manual.
- Upgrade checklist & FAQ Blog – this was released in early January 2024 to cover all the important steps you must do before proceeding with an upgrade. Remember you’re moving from Debian 10 through to Debian 12 and there is no roll back from the upgrade. License keys move from being v18 to v20 keys as part of this process.
IMPORTANT – SET YOUR SYSTEM OWNER! We’ve had a few cases of customers locking themselves out during the upgrade process and new charges will be incurred if you need 3CX’s support teams help.
V18 went EOL at the end of 2024 and support is no longer available on this version. While v18 update 9b is still able to communicate with the 3CX Activation Servers that time is limited. V18 PUSH notifications were due to end by the end of April 2025, however 3CX has extended the PUSH notifications for iOS and Android until 31st August 2025.
Thanks Christchurch – until next time
Earlier this month it was Christchurch’s turn for a partner event. Our Games Royale evening was a hit with lots of fun and games. It was a great opportunity to connect with our IT community. I had a fabulous time on the UC tables chatting with everyone and of course a few photos to capture the moment! Thanks to our marketing team for pulling an amazing event together and to our partners for participating. Until next time ……
Liongard – 3CX Inspector Tool
At Bluechip NZ we’re always looking within our portfolio for synergies between brands. Liongard is a brand that joined our portfolio earlier this year and upon some investigation by our GM of Sales, Jason Gass, we’ve discovered they have a specific Inspector Tool for 3CX. The 3CX Inspector Tool delivers the following:
- Automated 3CX Visibility: Instantly discover and document phones, extensions, trunks, licenses, and call data.
- Proactive Monitoring: Get alerts on issues like SIP trunk failures or license expirations before customers notice.
- Operational Efficiency: Reduce manual work with automated change tracking and configuration insights.
- Audit & Compliance Ready: Maintain historical records and change logs for up to 18 months.
- Enhanced Client Reporting: Use visual dashboards and timelines to improve QBRs and show service value.
- Upsell Opportunities: Identify risks and gaps that open doors for additional services.
- Competitive Differentiation: Offer a more proactive, security-focused managed service than other 3CX resellers.
Of note a 3CX Enterprise license is required – you can read more about the tool at this link and there is a short included demonstration video.
What is Liongard? It’s a platform which is purpose-built for MSPs, MSSPs, and IT Service Providers and delivers comprehensive attack surface management and cyber resilience. It provides:
- Automated Asset Discovery & Inventory
- Configuration Change Detection & Auditing
- Real-Time Monitoring & Remediation
- Advanced Documentation & Reporting
- Custom Alerts for Security & Licensing Events
Liongard helps MSPs understand every asset, how they interact, and their business impact.Powered by real-time intelligence and continuous change detection.
If you’d like to discuss more around Liongard, contact your Partner Success Manager or e-mail liongard@bluechipit.co.nz to find out more
Yealink Product News
Check out our latest social media video featuring the Yealink Panda. In part 2 she takes you on a journey through video conferencing rooms at our Ellerslie office. Stay tuned for part 3 when we upgrade our Megabyte meeting space!
Do you want to know more including how to scope a space? Reach our team on uc@bluechipit.co.nz as we can help. If you’re in Auckland we can host you at our office to review the technology and even host you with your customers!
Headset news: Yealink’s NFR promotion came to an end on the 30th June – if you do need to equip your team, please reach out to us on uc@bluechipit.co.nz and we’ll see how we can help. If your team use and love the headsets, it’s much easier to sell and support them for your own clients.
Grandstream news
Grandstream recently hosted a Webinar (in the wee small hours of the morning NZ time) to cover their upcoming product solutions. The webinar was recorded and we’re happy to share the link.
In the webinar they cover the most recent announcements and what’s on the roadmap as far out as mid-2026. There are exciting updates across their UC/SIP and Networking solutions. Check it out below.
If you’d like to know more about any of the Grandstream range – from SIP phones and facility access, to switches, routers and Access Points we can assist, reach our UC Team on uc@bluechipit.co.nz.
CommBox product updates
CommBox’s Commercial Displays are well known in the ANZ market. CommBox have solutions from Meeting Room Displays to Intelligent with Android on board, through to interactive and onwards to large format and LED. We can assist you to find the right solution for your customers’ needs.
If you’d like to know more about the commercial Intelligent Displays or any of the CommBox family of products, reach out to us on uc@bluechipit.co.nz.
Fanvil product updates
Fanvil has a vast array of business SIP phones that meet many different customer requirements. For our 3CX partners many of the units can also act as a router phone (SBC onboard) option. There are limits of how many phones can connect via the various models, but these give a great option for customers with a Cloud hosted instance of 3CX. Last month we featured the V62 Pro unit with the Bluetooth wireless handset. Below are some of the most popular XU and V series units at present.
If you’d like to know more around any of the Fanvil units, reach us on uc@bluechipit.co.nz – we have demo stock available for you to take for a test drive!
Jabra product updates
Jabra have you covered for all your headset requirements from wired; Bluetooth wireless; and DECT wireless options. They also have the fantastic video conferencing solutions available.
Jabra have you covered for all your headset requirements from wired; Bluetooth wireless; and DECT wireless options. They also have the fantastic video conferencing solutions available for small to medium spaces.
The Engage 55, 65, and 75 DECT headsets are very popular (65 SE is pictured) within the range and with a great battery life.
If you’d like to know more about it or any of the Jabra offerings contact our team on uc@bluechipit.co.nz.
Demo equipment
Here at Bluechip Infotech New Zealand, we hold a demo pool of Yealink, Grandstream, Jabra and Fanvil products which are available to borrow. We have IP phones, DECT phones, headsets, WiFi Access Points, facility access and more available to borrow and test. It’s a great way to be able to test out units and see if they meet the needs of your clients. A great way to evaluate new offerings ahead of purchase. If you’d like to borrow anything, please reach out to Megan Twentyman our BDM – UC in the first instance.
Case studies – stories sell products!
We value the opportunity to work with you to produce case studies on success stories with our UC brands. If you have a good story to share, please reach out to us on uc@bluechipit.co.nz and we can work with you. Case studies help sell the products to another customer. Grandstream have an incentive for GWN case studies but for case studies that we produce we’re happy to shout your team a pizza lunch. Get in touch so we can help you grow through sharing successes.
Join our LinkedIn UC community to see news first
Our “Bluechip UC Community” group has been created so our customers quickly get all the latest news. We post regularly and welcome new members to the group. Keep up to date with upcoming Bluechip Infotech New Zealand events, UC-related updates and any other general UC news. Join the LinkedIn group here.
