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3CX

Score8 out of 10

137 Reviews and Ratings

What is 3CX?

Cyprus based company 3CX offers an IP PBX phone system.

Media

Video Conferencing
Advanced Contact Center Reporting
Management Dashboard
Live Chat
3CX App
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1 / 6

3CX great small-business phone system

Pros

  • The user interface is easy to use
  • It is easy to set up new extensions, call queues, and ring groups
  • It is easy to re-provision an extension on a new piece of hardware

Cons

  • I would like to be able to see direct-dial numbers on the handsets. Currently that is not possible but that would be a nice feature.
  • You need an SBC per location, which can be a point of failure.
  • You also need a server that might get disconnected, which is another point of failure.

Most Important Features

  • Call queue reports
  • Ease of extension administration
  • Ability to change the software to your needs

Return on Investment

  • Call queues are a good ROI
  • We are able to implement better care and scheduling since using 3CX
  • We have been able to use the phone app to allow providers to call patients from home during COVID

Great but could use some improvement

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use 3cx to get incoming calls and also make outgoing calls.

Also we use it as an internal messaging platform.

Also we monitor the Queue of calls, listen to recordings, etc.

Pros

  • Chats between employees
  • Retrieving call recordings
  • Changing status of availability

Cons

  • Interface
  • More customization

Most Important Features

  • Wallboard
  • Call recordings
  • Chats
  • Groups

Return on Investment

  • It helped us improve communications between employees
  • Helped understand people's roles better

Alternatives Considered

Podium

Other Software Used

OutlookTime, Apple iCloud, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Teams

3CX to the Rescue!

Pros

  • The 3CX Phone System has a really nice auto-provision feature that works with plug and play phones, so then all that's needed is for each to have an extension assigned to them.
  • The 3CX Phone System web portal is exceptional. I love how I can keep it open during the day and quickly see who is busy on the phone and which lines are available. I can also call quickly by a simple click of the mouse.
  • The app that accompanies this allows me to provision my cellphone via the app to my classroom extension so that if I am out of my classroom and someone calls my phone, it also rings on my cell phone. I can also call via the app and it appears as if I am calling from my classroom extension.

Cons

  • The webmeeting function is clumsy compared to Zoom or Google Meets (Hangouts).
  • There is no support offered without paying for it, but the web forum that is offered for free does allow you to throw out questions and have them answered by someone in the community of 3CX user administrators.

Return on Investment

  • The money we save by switching to 3CX has helps us in other areas of our district's budget that directly impacts students.
  • After setting up the system, if we need to add another phone, it is super easy and takes about 5 minutes. Just plug in the phone, assign it an extension, and start using it.
  • Staff training was very minimal. Users can bypass the web portal and just use it via a traditional phone.

3CX is EZ as PI

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Due to the size of our organizations, it is important to be able to have several different divisions or groups. For a big example we have several buildings and helps us to be able to group each person belonging to each group, not just the department but about the location along with their job title.

Pros

  • The team that came in to help set us up was great.
  • Being able to get some custom support on some issues.
  • To be able to pivot and transition between 2 different phone systems has been great.

Cons

  • I think the GUI changes within the Web interface are horrible and are now more confusing.
  • Being a little more user friendly.
  • Create a simple and basic GUI for different users.

Most Important Features

  • Search for a person
  • Figuring out what building they work at.
  • Low downtime

Return on Investment

  • We had some hardware malfunction and our phones went out.
  • No phones working and answers seemed slow.
  • Trying to have a seamless transition (Always hiccups along the way).

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams and Zoom

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365, LogMeIn Pro, Munis

3CX Review

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have used 3CX for over 10 years. As a PBX, we never had any issues it was working fine. In terms of customer service however this is not the case. The 3CX customer service simply doesnt exist unless you want to pay extra for things that should work. We currently renewed our license for another year, and the system still shows that the license is expired. Their "customer service" team says since the portal shows the license is updated, its our fault and we need to pay extra. Something which is not and we have the proof. Last year we had the exact same story, they charged us the 75 EUR support fee and their reply was to uninstall and reinstall.

Pros

  • Provision phones
  • Voice quality
  • Management options

Cons

  • Customer service
  • Licensing

Most Important Features

  • Windows OS support

Return on Investment

  • We waste tons of hours talking to their customer service instead of working

Alternatives Considered

FreePBX, Sangoma Asterisk and formerly from Digium