Best VoIP Phone Systems
Buyer's Guide
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed many weak spots in the traditional workplace, with businesses scrambling to keep up with stay-at-home orders and ever-changing health and safety concerns. Traditional phone systems clearly couldn’t meet the needs of a suddenly distributed workforce, and, with remote workplaces becoming the new normal, they just aren’t equipped to handle modern business communication.
That’s exactly where VoIP phone systems excel. A business VoIP phone system allows your company to continue operating smoothly no matter where your employees are, whether it’s in your offices or in their homes. These solutions are highly scalable, accessible and, most importantly, keep you connected with your customers.
Curious about what one can do for your business? You’ve come to the right place! In this buyer’s guide, we’ll give you the rundown on key features, benefits, software providers and much more.
Executive Summary
- Business VoIP phone systems have capabilities like auto attendant, call forwarding, voicemail transcription and call takeover.
- The right system can reduce costs, improve scalability and accessibility, and increase customer satisfaction.
- Be sure to ask your vendor any specific questions you may have before committing to a solution.
What Are VoIP Phone Systems?
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a type of technology that uses an internet connection to make and receive calls, instead of traditional telephone wiring. A VoIP phone system is the platform you get from a service provider that enables the protocol to work.
VoIP works by converting your voice into a digital file that’s compressed before sending it over the net. When it reaches the recipient, the file is uncompressed and turns back into the sound of your voice.
The main difference between a traditional phone service and VoIP is the physical connection. Conventional phone services are connected to a PBX machine, usually found in the server room of a building, limiting desk phone use to one location. In contrast, VoIP phones use the internet, so they can be used anywhere with an internet connection.
There are two main types of VoIP phones:
- Hard phones use traditional telephone equipment, connected to the internet through an ethernet cable.
- Softphones work through apps you download that enable your device to make and receive calls using your business number.
Other VoIP phones include USB phones, wireless IP phones, video phones and conference phones.
VoIP phone systems often consolidate multiple forms of communication into a single system, supporting video and text along with audio. They’re also compatible with most existing hardware. Providers can route calls from one VoIP phone to another, or from a VoIP phone to a traditional landline or cellphone.
You can use VoIP in three different ways:
- By making calls from a regular landline phone using a VoIP adapter that plugs into either your phone socket or a router.
- By downloading and using apps to make calls from your smartphone.
- By using programs like Google Talk, Skype and FaceTime to make calls from your computer or desktop (which may cost slightly more if the person you’re calling doesn’t already have the same program installed).
Primary Benefits
Now that you know what a VoIP phone system is, let’s find out what it can do for your organization.
- Auto Attendant Systems
- Auto Dialer
- Automatic Call Distribution
- Business Phone Service Providers
- Business Phone
- Call Center Scripting
- Call Center
- Call Monitoring
- Call Recording
- Call Tracking
- Cloud PBX
- Cloud Phone Systems
- Computer Telephony Integration
- Conference Call Services
- Conference Calling
- IVR Systems
- PBX Phone
- Predictive Dialer
- Screen Sharing
- SIP Clients
- SIP Trunk Providers
- Small Business Phone
- UCAAS Providers
- Video Conferencing
- Virtual Phone Systems
- VoIP Phone Service Providers
- VoIP Softphones
- VoIP
Reduced Costs
Since VoIP systems only use an internet connection, switching your service over can help you save on equipment installation and maintenance costs associated with traditional phone service.
VoIP providers also offer less expensive rate plans. They don’t charge additional fees for long-distance and international calls, or for additional users, making it easy to scale.
Remote accessibility and automation tools like auto attendant systems help you cut down on operating costs like staff, rent and utilities.
Better Accessibility
According to a recent study by Stanford, 28% U.S. employees work in a hybrid or at least partially remote arrangement. VoIP helps you keep up with this workplace trend by allowing your employees to easily work from anywhere in the world — all they need is a strong internet connection.
Customer Satisfaction
According to Salesforce, 83% of customers expect to engage with someone immediately when contacting a company. VoIP phone systems help make that possible, with features like auto attendant that route your customers to the most appropriate agents for their queries.
Scalability
Since VoIP doesn’t require a lot of infrastructure, it adapts easily to changing business needs. Instead of having to invest in expensive hardware and time-consuming installation, you can add additional lines instantly by purchasing new phone numbers. You can also expand on the software’s other capabilities, like storage space, for more support as your needs grow.
Key Features & Functionality
| Call Forwarding | Forward calls to employees’ phones so that they don’t miss important calls, even while away from their desk or out of the office. Choose between sequential or simultaneous call forwarding, depending on the situation. |
|---|---|
| Call Recording | Record calls with the click of a button and store them on the cloud in a replayable audio format. Use recordings for training purposes, and to identify common customer issues and gauge overall customer satisfaction. Call recording also establishes accountability, minimizing the legal risks involved with verbal agreements over the phone. They also help you keep track of details that you may have otherwise missed or not noted. |
| Auto Attendant | Answer, escalate and route incoming calls to the appropriate person or department. Enable callers to respond to pre-recorded options with their voice or phone keypad based on their needs. For instance, direct them to "Press 1 for marketing" or "Press 2 for sales,” Reduce the need for human operators and streamline large call volumes. |
| Call Queues | Place callers in a virtual queue depending on when they contact the company or call center. Automatically distribute calls to the next available agent or the agent with the necessary expertise. Reduce wait times for callers. |
| Voicemail Transcription | Convert audio voicemail messages into text format, making them easier to understand and address. By automatically forwarding transcripts to email or SMS inboxes, you reduce the chances of missing important messages. Prevent miscommunication by providing a written record of client messages that employees can refer back to at any time. |
| Call Monitoring | Listen in on live calls to monitor agent performance and increase overall call quality by identifying client concerns and feedback. Most call monitoring also includes capabilities like call barging, call recording and call whispering. |
| Call Takeover | Allow supervisors and managers to take over a call if they feel an agent is struggling to meet a customer’s needs or resolve queries competently. |
Software Comparison Strategy
With so many phone systems out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when comparing different products. The best starting point for any software search is to know what your business requires, and where your current system falls short.
Talk to your customer support staff, IT specialists and business stakeholders to get a sense of the challenges facing your business. Identifying your primary concerns will help you determine what features best serve your needs.
In general, call quality is essential to consider: you don’t want to deal with dropped or choppy calls. Almost any business will benefit from features like auto attendant, call recording, call monitoring, video conferencing and call queues that improve inbound and outbound communications.
Other important factors to look out for are 24/7 assistance, employee training and system security.
If this all sounds overwhelming, don’t worry — you can always check out our guided selection packages for help narrowing down your options.
No matter how you arrive at a solution, make sure you research vendors. You can read up on their industry position, peruse online customer reviews and talk to industry peers for their recommendations. Most important of all is to have vendors answer any lingering questions before you make a purchasing decision.
Cost and Pricing Considerations
Two main factors affect the pricing of a VoIP phone system: the number of phones and the number of outside lines.
The number of phones you need, including the cost to set up and install each phone and a monthly charge for every extension, can significantly affect the cost of service. Depending on your budget, you can choose low-end, mid-range, high-end or conference phones.
The number of outside lines required affects cost because there are additional fees per call path. You can minimize the cost of this by only having what you need. For example, if you have 30 extensions, but you only use five to make outbound calls, then you really only need the five.
These costs are also affected by factors like your business size, the type of system and deployment method you choose, and the specific service provider. For example, if you’re purchasing totally new software and hardware, the cost of your system may be much higher as compared to reprogramming your existing system to support new capabilities.
Also, if you choose a cloud-based system where the provider hosts, you’ll deal with fewer costs related to infrastructure, maintenance and updates. On-premise solutions make you responsible for these costs and considerations, but they come with the benefit of more direct control over your phone system.
Other factors that can affect the cost of VoIP phone systems include:
- Phone number migration
- Equipment
- Cabling
- Add-on features
- Network infrastructure
The Most Popular VoIP Systems
Jumpstart your software search with our list of the three most popular VoIP phone systems.
RingCentral
RingCentral is a VoIP solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers features like team messaging, auto-recording, intelligent routing, custom greetings and high-definition video calling through any device. It integrates with ZenDesk, Microsoft Dynamics and Oracle CX Sales Cloud.
Viewing all call details on the desktop app. Source
8x8
8x8 is a VoIP communications service that offers features like auto attendant, call distribution, video calling, three-way calling and visual voicemail. It easily integrates with Salesforce, Microsoft Teams and ServiceNow. The solution combines video conferencing and messaging functionalities to improve collaboration.
Viewing call and messaging details. Source
Nextiva
Nextiva is a cloud communications platform suitable for all business sizes. It combines communication with business applications and intelligence. The solution offers features like team chat, call screening, call park, conference bridge, voicemail, caller ID and call analytics.
Viewing analytics on the custom dashboard. Source
Questions To Ask
By now, you have a basic idea of what a VoIP phone system does. To narrow down your search for the right solution, ask yourself some guiding questions:
- What’s our budget?
- What industries does my business serve?
- Which department will use my system the most?
- What features do we need? What problems can the system help us solve?
- How many phone lines do we need?
- Do we have the technical resources to implement and maintain a new system?
Ask some of these questions to learn more about the vendors and software:
- Do you offer 24/7 technical support?
- How many years of expertise do you have in the industry?
- Is the software scalable?
- What equipment is required?
- Is the software easy to understand or does it require training?
- Will the software integrate with other software my business uses?
- How long does onboarding typically take for your product?
Next Steps
The right VoIP phone system can make communication cost-effective, secure and accessible, even if your employees and customers are scattered across the world. Selecting the right software takes time, but, when it comes to serving your customers better, it can really pay off. To get the ball rolling, check out our free software comparison report to see how different products stack up. Good luck!
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