3CX and Htek to Team up on Telephony Solution

By Christopher Mohr
TMCnet Contributing Writer

3CX and Htek recently announced that they would be working together to provide a solution combining 3CX’s VoIP PBX (News - Alert) infrastructure and Htek’s phones and hardware. The objective of the arrangement is to give resellers and customers a turnkey solution that reduces much of the work that comes with setting up a new IP phone system.

3CX is a Nicosia, Cyrus-based company, founded in 2005 to provide an open standard software PBX for the Windows environment. Its offerings have since expanded to include Android (News - Alert) and iOS device support. Cloud servers, video conferencing, plugins for integrating with CRM and a system designed specifically for the hospitality industry are among the company’s other offerings.

Hanlong Technology Co., Ltd., more commonly known by its less formal name, Htek, makes phones, headsets, gateways and SIP adapters for the VoIP telephony industry. The Nanjing, China-based private company also provides components for Texas Instruments.  

The combined 3CX-Htek solution should be compelling to companies looking to move away from their legacy PBX systems. These customers are already looking to rid themselves of the hardware and support costs that these systems require; a turnkey solution reduces such costs even further.

Another compelling feature is the open standard of 3CX. The VoIP PBX industry is very fragmented with a few big players like Cisco, Avaya and Microsoft (News - Alert) and many smaller providers. Companies that want to make their VoIP PBX systems a long-term investment are going to be reluctant to go with a proprietary system. A 3CX system will run in a Microsoft environment while still being able to leverage other development on the same platform and support customization.

For a company seeking a new VoIP PBX installation, the decision to go with 3CX-Htek will come down to how important compatibility with Microsoft is. If it’s not important or it’s important to use another platform, then the latest turnkey solution from the two companies will probably be a non-starter. For those who have or seek to have a Microsoft environment, it’s definitely worth a long look. 

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