We test and compare 10 business-class, hosted voice over IP (VoIP) telephony solutions that bring various levels of Unified Communications (UC) capabilities to small to midsize businesses.
A key indicator that the phone is still a must-have is the helpdesk industry. According to multiple vendors of helpdesk and IT service desk software, their customers report that the telephone is still the most popular method for their users to reach out for support even when email, social media, and live chat options are enabled. They also report that this trend isn’t likely to change anytime soon, as shown in the infographic below.
But even with this realization, you have a multitude of choices. Larger businesses need to select between on-premises Private Branch Exchange (PBX) hardware and hosted solutions, weighing their potential benefits (i.e., advanced functionality and total customizability) against associated costs. Small to midsize businesses (SMBs) need to make that same choice, but also weigh their current needs and budget against what they expect those needs to become in the future. As telephony technology continues to evolve and integrate with other types of software, especially cloud services, CRM and marketing automation solutions in particular will become key. For many, the cost of a traditional PBX system may not only be beyond the reach of their current operating budget, but may also not make much long-term sense.
Furthermore, when you’re starting or running a small business, you need to be devoting the majority of your time and efforts into your core business in order to succeed. Wasting time on purchasing, implementing, and managing infrastructure can be extremely costly, both in capital outlay and time removed from building the business.
Traditionally, small businesses would rely on a local telco for basic business phone needs, using something like a CENTREX system. But today, those systems have become antiquated and do not mesh well with the needs of a modern business—especially for emerging trends such as integrating mobile phones, enterprise social networking, texting, leveraging call center and call queuing software, web video conferencing or dozens of other features that can streamline processes, promote collaboration, and accelerate growth.
Fortunately, there are many more options available today in hosted PBX solutions that bring the features and reliability of an enterprise-level PBX to SMBs. In order to provide a guide to these solutions, we’ve pulled together eight of the leading hosted PBX solutions representing a range of features and types: 8×8 Virtual Office Pro, Citrix Grasshopper, Dialpad, Fonality Hosted PBX, Microsoft Skype for Business Online, RingCentral Office (for Business), ShoreTel Connect Cloud, and Vonage Business.
We also attempted to include VoIP solution provider Nextiva in this roundup, but oddly, the company didn’t respond to any of several attempts at contact. This was more than a little puzzling for a company that ostensibly specializes in business communications.
The eight VoIP solutions we did test cover a wide range of features and options. Some, such as Fonality Hosted PBX and RingCentral Office (for Business), are geared towards larger businesses, and offer high-end enterprise features, but they offer rates that fit into SMB budgets. Others, such as Citrix Grasshopper, are very much geared towards the smaller end of the SMB market and provide the basics of a modern phone system—without the need for any on-premises equipment or even fixed phone lines and, though limited in features, are extremely cost-effective.
On the higher end of this space, hosted PBX providers such as RingCentral Office and Fonality Hosted PBX will generally require some on-premises hardware such as specific desk and cordless VoIP phones preconfigured to work with the hosted PBX service. These phones connect to the provider over the Internet and function exactly as you would imagine a business phone should, but the phone system running those phones is located in the cloud rather than the telco closet in the basement. Self-service management and configuration of these systems generally occurs through a web-based portal, and can include a long list of potential features. For SMBs, the most commonly important features you should be considering include:
In some cases, providers will offer on-premises Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) connectivity through hardware that is connected to analog or digital phone lines from the local telco, and connected to the business network. This allows a business to continue to use local phone lines with their hosted PBX solution and may be of significant benefit to businesses that have a requirement to maintain local wired lines.
Furthermore, most (if not all) providers also offer smartphone integration with custom and third-party apps, like CRM systems that can extend the phone system beyond just basic voice communication. Such integrations can also allow users to transfer calls to and from their mobile phone, place and receive calls from their personal phone (that appear to be coming from the business), and interact with colleagues and customers via voice and text.
Most of these VoIP solutions will require stable and consistent internet connectivity at every location where the wired phones are to be used. In many cases, standard business-class Internet service with suitable bandwidth will suffice, though the use of Quality of Service (QoS) configuration on a business-class Internet router may be necessary to prioritize voice traffic over other Internet traffic in order to maintain good call quality. Some hosted PBX providers offer assistance with this type of configuration on existing customer hardware, assuming that hardware can support QoS configuration. Other providers will sell a specific piece of network hardware with the proper QoS configuration for the business to install that will ensure that call quality is prioritized.
Either way, the quality and functionality of a hosted PBX with VoIP service will only be as good as the internet service at the business location. If this service is not sufficient, a VoIP solution may not be possible. Some hosted PBX providers do offer dedicated circuits that can be installed to directly connect the business to the provider, but those are generally quite costly. Fortunately, there are other ways to use hosted PBX solutions without requiring internet-connected phones.
Some providers, such as Citrix Grasshopper, offer a solution that doesn’t use VoIP at all. They are essentially just simple PBXes that consider existing phone lines to be extensions and route calls that way. For instance, you might have a main number that delivers callers to an IVR system and, when the caller dials an extension or selects a destination such as “Sales” or “Support,” the hosted PBX calls an existing landline or mobile number and connects the two calls. The caller is unaware that they have connected to a completely different phone number, as the system looks and functions like an in-house PBX with call forwarding, transfer, hold music, IVR, and so forth.
The extensions in this case could be Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) lines, mobile phones, or even VoIP phones through a different provider. All the hosted PBX cares about is that, when a certain extension is selected, a call is placed to the phone number assigned to that extension. This sounds basic, but it’s a tried-and-true technology that can make businesses of any size and budget look as if they are using enterprise-grade phone software—without the need to invest in heavy-duty PBX solutions or dedicated desktop phone hardware.
Placing outbound calls with a system like this is typically done by first registering a specific phone with the provider for outbound calling, and then dialing a specific number to then place an outbound call to the desired number. This method is made far simpler by using a smartphone with the provider app to place outbound calls.
In addition to making sure your Internet service can handle your VoIP traffic, you also need to make sure your local area network (LAN) can handle it. What makes it tricky is that if you simply drop VoIP onto your network, that traffic will get processed the same as any other traffic running across your LAN, like your shared accounting application or those 20 gigabytes worth of files your assistant just stored in the cloud. The problem there is that VoIP traffic is much more sensitive to network bumps and potholes than most general office traffic. That translates to the sound breaking up or cutting out entirely, difficulty connecting over WiFi, or (worst case) dropped and lost calls. Fortunately, most of the providers reviewed here have engineering staff that will contact you as part of your setup process to help your IT staffers test and optimize your network prior to deploying their solutions.
