Unified Communications as a Service offers an opportunity to bring all voice, text, and video into a single platform. Here we look at the best UCaaS providers.
The best Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) providers offer a simple and easy to manage communications platform to integrate with your business. UCaaS is all about combining all the different communications channels available to a business in a single unified platform. While in the past businesses might have had to rely on a wide range of hardware, advances in digital technology mean that cloud computing services can now deliver this as a service such as our top choice Ring Central. In the past unified communications would mean making sure VoIP for internal and external calls could be combined into one system, but these days it also means adding other communication options such as chat/instant messaging, email, video conferencing, and even sometimes social media content. While a number of companies are described as providing UCaaS, sometimes this has the practical experience of being more like many applications using a Single Sign On (SSO) to give the appearance of a unified platform. For this buying guide, we’ll instead focus on those companies that deliver a true UCaaS experience by allowing all communications to be managed via a single application. Here we’ll feature the providers we think will deliver the best overall UCaaS experience. RingCentral Office offers a complete unified communications solution that combines HD VoIP, messaging, conferencing, contact center, and fax, in a single application. What’s especially good about RingCentral Office is its total accessibility and scaleability, allowing anywhere from a single user to over a 1,000 employees to sign up for the service, meaning that it can truly serve anything from the smallest business to enterprises. Different features are available according to different payment plans, but even the most basic Essentials plan offers a comprehensive range, including unlimited calls within the US and Canada, as well as unlimited SMS and MMS, and also mobile apps for use with iOS and Android for mobile use. Other features include visual voicemail, voicemail-to-email, as well as full call management and phone system administration which includes call recording on demand. The Standard service plan adds reporting, a multi-level auto attendant, as well as internet fax features, along with unlimited audio and video conferencing for up to four people. The Premium plan allows conferencing for up to 100 people, automatic call recording, as well as multi-site support, Single Sign On (SSO), and introduces integrations with SalesForce and Zendesk.
