Compare · Bicom Systems
Thirdlane vs Bicom: same multi-tenant DNA, modern admin and fewer add-ons.
Bicom and Thirdlane share an Asterisk lineage and a true multi-tenant architecture — that’s the honest starting point. PBXware is a serious platform. Where the two differ is what comes included, how the admin experience feels in 2026, and how the modules are licensed.
Thirdlane ships a built-in CRM, native Meta WABA integration (we’re the WABA provider), omnichannel contact center, AI voice intelligence, and OpenAPI 3.1 REST APIs as part of the platform — not as separately-licensed add-ons.
The wedge: what’s in the platform vs. what’s an add-on
Bicom’s commercial model puts capabilities like security hardening, monitoring, gloCOM editions, and multi-tenant licensing into separate products. That’s a legitimate modular approach — and it’s a quote that grows fast.
Bicom: modular product family
PBXware (multi-tenant license tier) + gloCOM (Office/Business/Agent/Supervisor) + sipPROT + sipMON + sipMENTOR. Each is its own product with its own version cadence and its own license. Powerful, but the SKU sprawl shows up at quote time and at upgrade time.
Thirdlane: one platform, one upgrade
Configuration Manager + Connect + integrated SBC + omnichannel contact center + built-in CRM + AI voice intelligence + native WhatsApp + OpenAPI 3.1 APIs. One platform, one release line. Per-tenant licensing is the only meaningful pricing axis.
Side by side
| Area | Thirdlane | Bicom Systems |
|---|---|---|
| Tenancy model | True multi-tenant on a single platform. | True multi-tenant on PBXware. Comparable architecture. |
| Telephony core | Asterisk-based with open dialplan and AMI/AGI. | Asterisk-based (PBXware). Similar foundation. |
| Horizontal scaling | Cluster horizontally with service locations, role-separated management/proxy/PBX servers, tiered config sync, real-time topology view, automatic offline recovery. | Clustering supported via PBXware Multi-Tenant + replication. Comparable carrier-grade scaling capability. |
| Multi-location customers | First-class Multi-Site Enterprises model: three inter-site dialing modes, enterprise-shared trunks, per-site metrics, Organization REST API. | Multi-site supported across separate tenants linked by SIP. Less first-class “enterprise as a single object” modeling. |
| UC client | Connect: voice, video, chat, presence, file sharing, white-label per tenant. Included with the platform. | gloCOM is the UC client. Licensed separately, with editions (Office, Business, Agent, Supervisor) — feature gating per tier. |
| Add-on tax | CRM, AI voice intelligence, omnichannel contact center, branded apps, REST APIs, and OpenAPI 3.1 specs are part of the platform. | sipPROT (security), sipMON (monitoring), sipMENTOR (training), gloCOM editions, multi-tenant licensing — each tier and add-on is a separate line on the quote. |
| WhatsApp Business | Native Meta WABA integration. Thirdlane is its own WhatsApp Business Solution Provider. | WhatsApp via partner integrations. Not a first-party WABA provider. |
| Built-in CRM | Full CRM module with Contacts, Accounts, Leads, Deals, Lists, Tasks, Campaigns, Custom Fields. CSV import, REST API, OpenAPI 3.1 spec. | CRM integrations exist; first-party CRM module with deals, lists, and campaigns is not part of the platform. |
| AI voice intelligence | Built-in summarization, sentiment, QA scoring, action items, entity extraction, compliance checking. Pluggable AI provider. | AI features arrive via integration. No first-party post-call analysis pipeline. |
| Identity & SSO | OIDC SSO with MFA across Configuration Manager, User Portal, and Connect (web, desktop, mobile). Pre-named: Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace, Keycloak, Authentik, Zoho. Plus any OIDC IdP. | SSO/SAML supported through PBXware. Less granular IdP coverage out of the box. |
| Recording & storage | S3-compatible object storage across seven providers (AWS, Wasabi, Backblaze B2, DigitalOcean Spaces, Cloudflare R2, MinIO, Garage). Per-tenant BYOS for compliance-bound customers. | External storage supported via PBXware archival options. Less standardized multi-provider S3 with per-tenant BYOS. |
| Admin UX | Modern Configuration Manager with visual call-flow editor (search, double-click-to-edit), Reports module with charts and scheduled email, branded toolbars. | Functional admin with depth, but the UI shows its age compared to a 2026 SaaS-era admin. |
| APIs | OpenAPI 3.1 specs, interactive Scalar docs, REST APIs across Organization, CRM, telephony, and system management. AMI/AGI for Asterisk-native integration. | REST API and AMI/AGI hooks. Less first-party CRM/messaging API surface. |
| Release cadence | Frequent point releases (16.1.x is the current line). 16.1 added omnichannel CC, built-in CRM, AI voice intelligence, native WhatsApp, multi-site enterprises, OIDC SSO, and more. | Major-version cadence is more conservative. New capabilities tend to land as separate add-on products rather than core platform features. |
When Bicom is the right call
- Carriers with deep PBXware deployment history and existing Bicom certifications across the team.
- Buyers who specifically want sipPROT/sipMON in their stack and prefer the modular add-on approach.
- Customers locked into gloCOM workflows that would be costly to retrain off.
Evaluating both?
Send us your existing Bicom configuration and a list of the gloCOM editions you license. We’ll come back with a feature-by-feature mapping to Thirdlane and a per-tenant TCO that accounts for the add-ons that would no longer be separate line items.
Comparisons are based on each vendor’s public documentation and pricing pages. Last reviewed: 2026.