3CX v15.5 SP3 Beta: conference updates, hosting improvements and a new pricing policy / 3CX Ltd. Blog

v15.5 SP3 Beta: conference updates and hosting improvements

In the recent 3CX SP3 Beta build, we implemented many changes in the system core , which provided a noticeable increase in performance, reduced consumption of system resources, support for IPv6 protocol and enabled TLS by default.

Audio conferencing

We introduced a number of improvements to the audio conferencing interface:

• Internal participants (organization employees) are now called automatically when the conference starts. This option is enabled on the server side in the options section.
  
• In the web client interface, you can invite participants to e-mail addresses.
  
• The management of conference participants from the web client has appeared.
  

TLS Support

Now 3CX can communicate with IP phones using the TLS protocol. The protocol is included in the system by default. However, this requires support from the phone firmware manufacturer.

System hosting

Based on our experience with serving thousands of virtual machines on Google Cloud, we have significantly improved the security, stability, and manageability of 3CX instances. The following features have appeared:

• New hosting admin account . It provides special access to the system for administrative tasks, restricting administrator access to 3CX end-user data.
  
• It is possible to completely disable logging to reduce the volume of log files on the cloud of a cloud server.
  
• Implemented protection against disk overflow. The system reduces the use of disk space when the limit of free space is reached. This allows you to save access to the PBX even when the disk is full.
  

Integration with CRM systems

• Added support for Zoho CRM .
  
• The constructor for server integration of 3CX and your own CRM has been released.
  

Download and Install v15.5 SP3 Beta

To update the installed system, in the 3CX interface, go to the Updates interface section, highlight the 15.5 SP3 Beta update and click the Update button.
To install a new system:

• Windows
  
• Linux
  

The script should look like this:

wget -O- http://downloads.3cx.com/downloads/3cxpbx/public.key | apt-key add -
echo "deb http://downloads.3cx.com/downloads/debian stretch-testing main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/3cxpbx-testing.list
apt-get -t testing install 3cxpbx

Users who have not yet upgraded to Debian 9 should replace the second line of the script with:

echo "deb http://downloads.3cx.com/downloads/debian jessie-testing main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/3cxpbx-testing.list

After that, check out the tutorial on migrating from Debian 8 to Debian 9 Stretch .

To see conference updates, install the latest desktop clients:

• 3CX Client for Windows
  
• 3CX Client for Mac
  

Do not install the beta version in a working environment. Use it only to test new features. Backups made on beta versions will not work. In addition, it is not covered by technical support.

Change in pricing and 3CX revisions

Starting in March 2018, we will present a new price list and changes to the 3CX Phone System licensing policy.

First of all, we hasten to inform you that for all users, a system for 4 simultaneous calls to the Standard Edition will be offered for free at any time and without any limitations! In addition, Standard Editions for 8 and 16 simultaneous calls will now also be free for the first year of use!

The cost of 3CX annual licenses (licenses with equal annual fees) is also reduced ! And now they will also be available technical support with a one-time payment for the appeal. For perpetual licenses, it became possible to renew the subscription to updates not within 30, but within 90 days. And after that, if desired, it will be possible to switch to an annual license.

And now for less pleasant changes. Firstly, the cost of a subscription to updates (Maintenance) is slightly increased (up to 27.5% of the cost of a new perpetual license).

Therefore, we recommend that users renew their subscription to updates at the old price until the beginning of March.

Perpetual licenses have also risen in price slightly (by an average of 15%). A transition from a smaller edition to a larger one (Standard> Pro) or expansion of the license capacity will cost as the difference between the nominal cost of licenses + 35% (i.e., buying the right license immediately is 35% more profitable than switching to it later). In this regard, it is very important to immediately choose the right license - taking into account the expansion and additional features (for example, CRM support) so as not to overpay in the future.