Hands on: 3CX Phone System V20 review
This review first appeared in Issue 357 PC Professional Edition.
3CX is the place to get the best IP PBX services because it phone system The software offers an unrivaled range of call handling features. Not content with the status quo, 3CX has been hard at work on development, and version 20 under review represents the most significant update we’ve seen in years.
Safety Taking center stage here, 3CX hardens its systems against cyberattacks by enforcing stricter access control policies through the full use of a zero-trust model. Allow deployment from local 3CX softphone application only Microsoft The store adds additional security by allowing 3CX to update it as needed without modifying the main phone system build.
One of the biggest changes is the management console. Previously there was a separate management interface, but it has been redesigned and integrated into the client application so administrators do not need a separate console to use and manage the system.
Phone System comes in four plans, of which the 3CX free cloud hosting version is designed to microenterprise There is a maximum of ten users. The Small Business edition is also cloud-hosted by 3CX, supports up to 20 users, and starts at £175 per year, while the Professional and Enterprise editions significantly increase the number of features and can be run on-site in private premises. cloud Or hosted by 3CX.
For this early review, Phone System V20 was only available on Debian Linux 12, so we chose to virtualize it on a Windows Server 2022 Hyper-V system in our lab. Deployment was undemanding: we assigned the downloaded ISO file to a new virtual machine, started it and followed the short Debian installation wizard, which completed by loading the phone system and providing a link to its web console.
The new client interface will be a big surprise for existing users, as the dashboard’s system performance graphs and quick access icons have been removed to make way for more information about phone system status, configuration and event logs. All management functions are still easily accessible from the left-hand menu, with an adjacent sidebar providing direct access to calls, chats, and voicemail, and icons in the upper right corner providing one-click links to dialpad and availability status settings.
There are some local prerequisites as you still need to create forwarding rules on your server firewall SIP and RTP port ranges for phone systems. The system’s fully qualified domain name (FQDN) must now be resolvable internally and externally, so your firewall needs to support split DNS, but small businesses can eliminate all of these issues by choosing to have 3CX host Phone System V20 in the cloud.
You need paid SIP trunking to enable VoIP Calling; we used the excellent T4com Ltd based in the UK who are on the 3CX supported providers list. Adding a relay is easy: Once you enter your main relay phone number, account number, and password, it takes less than a minute.
Adding new users and configuring IP phones is as easy as in previous versions, while ring groups, call queues and digital operators ensure no calls are missed. Call forwarding allows users to redirect calls while working from home, and 3CX has also added 2FA user authentication and integration with Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and numerous CRM applications.
3CX Phone System V20 is our recommended choice for businesses that want to manage their own VoIP systems. It offers a range of affordable plans that can be hosted in the cloud or on-premises, and this latest version adds an impressive range of new features.
We also ranked the best interactive voice response services.
