Your office probably has an e-graveyard—a dusty side room filled with outdated electronics and computer gear that the business has long outgrown.
Business VoIP services have become increasingly attractive to small-business owners because of their simplicity, wide range of features, and—most of all—inexpensive pricing, compared to traditional phone line systems. They can also eliminate a lot of on-site hardware, so it might be time to deal with that e-graveyard.
VoIP transforms outgoing or incoming calls into a digital signal and sends it through the internet, converting it to a standard telephone signal to reach a non-VoIP number. Through VoIP, you can place outgoing calls or receive incoming calls directly from a computer, a VoIP phone, or a regular phone that’s hooked up to a VoIP adapter, as well as wirelessly through mobile hotspots.
If it isn’t obvious yet, VoIP business phone systems require reliable high-speed internet of DSL quality or above, in addition to some specialized software and hardware. But your service choices aren’t limited to a handful of local legacy telephone companies, as VoIP is cloud-based and ubiquitous (the sheer amount of business VoIP service providers is staggering; we’ve included as many as we could here).
13 best VoIP providers for small businesses
1.RingCentral: Best full-service VoIP2.Nextiva: Best inexpensive VoIP provider
3.Grasshopper: Best for mobile businesses
4.Ooma: Best budget buy
5.8x8: Best international calling
6.Vonage: Best VoIP service for growing businesses
.7.Verizon: Best VoIP for midsize businesses
8.Jive: Best features
9.Mitel: Runner-up for mobile businesses
10.Phone.com: Cheapest plans
11.MegaPath: Best customer service
12.1-VoIP: Most flexible
13.Frontier: Honorable mention
What you should know about VoIP
Since VoIP is a relatively new technology that differs from traditional copper-line telephone systems, there may be a bit of a learning curve before you dive into adopting it for your business. Here are a few elemental points to get started.Basic features to expect
Just as a smartphone can do more than a landline phone, a VoIP phone system for business can perform all the expected tasks of standard phone systems and then some. They’re a great choice for small businesses that need full functionality, and the VoIP systems we’ve reviewed include most, if not all, of the following features:- Web-based system administration
- Mobile management (iOS and Android)
- Automated attendant
- Hold music
- Call forwarding
- Conference bridging
- Conference calling
- Caller ID
- Call blocking
- Call waiting
- Call transferring
- Find Me/Follow Me
- Ring groups
- One-line sharing on multiple phones/devices
- Videoconferencing
- Voicemail to Email (as audio file)
- Voicemail to Text
- Fax to Text (as PDF)
PBX
A private branch exchange (PBX) is the closed telephone network within a business, which employees share for outbound, inbound, and interoffice phone calls. VoIP systems manage PBXs off-site through cloud hosting, eliminating the need for costly (and space-hogging) on-premise equipment and maintenance.
SIP trunk
A SIP (session initiation protocol) trunk carries voice, data, and video through a “trunk” that replaces copper telephone connections through the conventional PSTN (public switched telephone network), consolidating phone and internet service into a single digital line.
In plain English, SIP trunking allows you to physically disconnect from your phone company, opening the door for digital, internet-powered options (read: VoIP). And unlike hardwired telephone lines, digital lines allow you to scale your phone solutions as your business grows.
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