In this update:
- 3CX important dates during 2022
- Current promotions from 3CX
- Upcoming webinar and technical training
- 3CX blogs – essential knowledge
- Need demo equipment?
- Grandstream ex-demo and EOL clearance
- Submit a great 3CX case study. Get pizzas for your team!
- Firmware for IP phones
- Join our LinkedIn VoIP community
3CX important dates during 2022
As detailed in both our November and December newsletters, the current supported version of 3CX is v18. The latest update is update 2. There are some important dates coming up throughout 2022 that will affect customers on older versions and reduce their functionality. The below graphic is an easy visual guide of what is changing. It’s important to plan to migrate your customers up to v18 and the latest update as soon as possible.
Current promotions from 3CX
A reminder of the current promotions – while no official end date has been announced, these are for a limited time.
- Free Enterprise upgrade – customers on an Annual Subscription Professional v18 license, can upgrade for free to the Enterprise Edition. The upgrade is until the end of the term of the license. This upgrade is done from the customer login to the 3CX portal.
- Free 4-SC Professional or Enterprise license – start a trial for your customer via your Partner Portal. Your customer can then login to their 3CX customer portal, and upgrade to Professional or Enterprise for free, until the end of the term.
- Perpetual license trade-ins – for any existing 3CX customers, you can arrange a trade-in of their license to an Annual Subscription via your Partner Portal. This will give them one year free of their current edition and simultaneous call count. They must upgrade to the current v18 as part of this process. NB: Please let our sales@sofsol.co.nz team know if you do trade-in a license (include your license key) as we can update our systems to ensure you get a renewal quote the following year.
- Proof of concept trials – if you have a customer who will need a license larger than 4-SC, you can create the trial via your Partner Portal as normal. Once deployed you can then use the “More” button to choose “POC” which is Proof of Concept. This will allow you to upgrade the license to Professional or Enterprise and the simultaneous call count required for a period of 45 days. Please note: you cannot use the free 4-SC upgrade to Professional or Enterprise if you are using the POC option. It’s one or the other.
Upcoming webinar and technical training
Join Megan Twentyman, Brand Manager, on Monday 28th February at 11.30am for a bite size webinar around “Why you need to migrate your customers to the latest version of 3CX”. The purpose of the webinar is to highlight key dates when parts of v16 will no longer be supported. Also see the new features in v18 are and how they’ll benefit your customers. The session will wrap with a Q&A session. Please register here and we look forward to your attendance.
We are holding a 3CX Basic Technical Training on Wednesday 23rd March from 9am to approximately 3pm. This training is open to all 3CX partners who transact with Soft Solutions and will be held as an online session. The training session covers best practice installations and configuration. It’s an essential tool for team members within 3CX partners and is the first of three certifications available from 3CX. Register for the event here. Our training is run by Kenny Cheung our Technical Trainer. He’s assisted by Jordan Misomphane our new Technical Specialist. At the conclusion of the training, an exam will be sat by all participants – Kenny and Jordan will stay online to support everyone. Any queries can be sent to voip@sofsol.co.nz.
3CX blogs – essential knowledge
With a new version of 3CX, comes a lot more information to learn and digest. We’ve shared a lot of details via our newsletters since August, and in our LinkedIn community group. Below are the recent blog articles from across the holiday period. It’s important to stay up to date on new enhancements and key dates. With a new version, things move rapidly. Keep across what’s happening, to keep your customers well informed.
- Update 2 for v18, and update 8a for v16 are live – the latest updates went live just prior to Christmas and are important to cover off upcoming changes. Read the full blog here to understand why you’d your clients to be up-to-date.
- v18 Update: a new app-like Web Client (PWA) – this latest update introduces Progressive Web App (PWA) support for the Web Client. Supported on both Chrome and Edge it offers an app-like experience without installing the full app. Read more here to understand the options for you and your clients.
- Restore 1 click dial for Click2Call browser extension – the new extension is available for both Chrome and Edge and brings back a much-loved feature. Read the blog here and download the extension from within.
- v16 WebMeeting servers turn off on 30th March 2022 – this blog looks at why the older servers are turning off and why customers should upgrade to v18 for the latest technology. Review it in detail here.
- The benefits of Live Chat for ecommerce – are your clients using Live Chat on their website yet? This blog looks at why they should be and is well worth a read here.
- Live Chat reports and statistics – everyone loves data, this blog takes a look at the importance of statistics delivered once Live Chat is implemented on your website. Read more here.
- v18 upgrade aborted: what are the common pitfalls and remediation – most upgrades run smoothly but on the odd occasion problems are encountered. Not only are you upgrading v16 to v18 you’re also updating from Debian 9 to Debian 10. This blog at this link, walks through the two most common issues that could be encountered and how to resolve them if encountered.
- Upgrade directly from v15.5 to v18 – for any customers that are on the much older v15.5 there’s now a direct upgrade path rather than having to step up. Read the full blog here.
- CRM Integration Wizard – this wizard easily links your CRM with 3CX. The blog found here talks about which CRMs are already integrated and how to use the wizard for a CRM that is not. It’s always good to know who’s calling before you answer that call.
- iOS app release – delivering a better user experience with quick actions and voicemail access. Read the full details here and download from the App Store today.
- Android app release – the latest release is now available from within the Google Play Store. It delivers a better user experience with v18. Check out what’s new here.
- Features of Microsoft Teams integration and how to use them – this blog looks at the key benefits of the integration and then links through to the relevant guides. Check it out here.
- Benefits of the Microsoft Teams integration with 3CX – this blog takes a look at the key benefits of integrating the two solutions. Review it here.
- 3CX recognised as a top product by Gartner – 3CX has featured in 8 distinct flagship reports from Gartner at the end of 2021. This recognition is another sales tool for you to share with your customers – please see the full details on their blog here.
- New Call Flow Designer (CFD) for v18 update 2 – 3CX has updated the CFD with some great new TTS (text to speech) options and a number of enhancements. Check out the blog from their 3CX Support Manager here.
Need demo equipment?
Just a reminder that we operate quite an extensive range of Grandstream and Yealink demo equipment that you can borrow to put it through its paces or for a client event to showcase. We also have access to EPOS-Sennheiser and Jabra headsets. If you have a requirement, please reach out to megan@sofsol.co.nz and she’ll be happy to assist.
Grandstream ex-demo and EOL clearance
We have ex-demo and EOL units available to purchase at a reduced cost or give away. All units are checked by our team and factory re-set. Boxes are intact but open. Soft Solutions will honour a 3-month warranty from date of purchase of ex-demo units. Please contact voip@sofsol.co.nz if you are interested in knowing what we have available at present. This could be a great way to equip a charity or non-profit with limited funds, with new VoIP hardware.
Submit a great 3CX case study. Get pizzas for your team!
Would you like a lunch shout on Soft Solutions? Just propose a case study for consideration. If 3CX accepts, we’ll arrange a treat for your team. There is nothing better than a local and relatable case study to help get a sale across the line. Share your success stories and reward your team. We have a simple questionnaire you can work through with your customer – 3CX’s marketing team does the rest. It’s also a great opportunity to touch base with customers and ensure everything’s working as it should. If you have a customer that might participate, contact our VoIP Brand Manager, Megan Twentyman. We’ll make the process painless and treat your team!
Firmware for IP phones
Remember it is vital to keep checking for updated firmware, for your VoIP hardware. Grandstream and Yealink release new firmware as it is developed. The firmware is available free of charge from their respective websites. It does take some time for 3CX to verify new firmware so be sure to check the latest supported firmware that 3CX advises you to use. This is found on the 3CX website here. If you are ever trouble-shooting any issue with 3CX, the first thing they will check is whether your hardware has the supported firmware version. Now is a great time to ensure everything is up-to-date and working optimally.
Join our LinkedIn VoIP community
Our “Soft Solutions NZ VoIP Community” group has been created so our customers get all the latest news quickly. We post regularly and welcome new members to the group. Keep up to date with upcoming Soft Solutions events, VoIP updates and any other general VoIP news. Join the LinkedIn group here.
Thank you for reading.
The VoIP Team at Soft Solutions
Phone: 09 306 0450, Freephone: 0800 733 233, E-mail: voip@sofsol.co.nz.
