We are all aware of how the Internet has changed communication in modern times. Gone are the days of using traditional phone lines and all that. People can communicate now by using the Internet and it provides several benefits as well.
VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol is a technology that uses the internet to make or receive calls instead of the traditional phone lines. Internet-based phone systems convert the voice into a digital signal and send it just like any other form of data.
Internet business phone systems provide a lot of additional features beyond just calling. These features would generally have to be paid for while using traditional phone systems. On the contrary, VoIP phone systems come with features like call recording, call forwarding, call analytics, voicemail, video conferencing, and a lot more without any additional costs.
However, everything in the world has its disadvantages as well.
So, let’s take a look at some of the benefits as well as disadvantages of VoIP or Internet-based phone systems.
Benefits:
- Flexible: It offers great flexibility to make and receive calls using any device like your mobile, tablet, laptop, etc. and can be accessed easily from remote areas helping your business to function efficiently even without your employees’ presence at the office.
- Highly scalable: VoIP or Internet business phone systems are highly scalable without having to buy anything new. You can easily expand or contract your operations without any headaches.
- Data: These systems can help you track and analyze data besides monitoring the calls. This lets you improve your services by finding out the inefficiencies.
- Cost-saving: Internet phone systems are highly cost saving as they don’t need much hardware, and the monthly charges for such services are also low as compared to traditional systems. Plus, you don’t need to pay for additional features as well.
Disadvantages:
- The requirement of a good internet connection: This is the only mandatory aspect required for internet phone systems. Without a stable internet connection, availing VoIP can be a very bad decision.
- No location tracking: VoIP phone systems do not give your location to emergency services automatically unlike traditional phone systems.
Now that we have seen what internet phone systems have to offer, VoIP services that can be great for your business.
Nextiva:
Nextiva is one of the leading and most trusted VoIP services in the market today and there is no need for an annual contract to use their services. They are known to provide internet phone systems for all kinds and size of businesses.
Nextiva is widely used for internet business phone systems by small businesses, startups, professionals, and mid-level businesses as well. The companies using their service are pretty happy with it and recommend it as well.
Some features of Nextiva:
- Reliable and trustworthy VoIP service with HD quality
- Easy to set up and intuitive
- Knowledgeable and dependable customer support
- Unlimited calling without additional charges
- Instant conference calling and video conferencing
- Easy to manage voicemails using your email
- A dedicated app to manage calls from mobile devices
Phone.com:
Phone.com is known to be one of the leading internet phone systems providers in the world. It is very affordable for small and medium scale businesses while delivering an overall great phone service.
The basic plan of Phone.com starts at a very low price but comes with certain limitations. The basic plan provides 300 minutes and 3000 SMS which can be a constraint for some businesses. There is nothing to worry about though. You can always choose a higher plan to increase the limits.
Features of Phone.com:
- Call recording, waiting, forwarding, voicemail, etc.
- Useful call analytics
- Low prices along with a 30-day money-back guarantee
RingCentral:
RingCentral is one of the biggest VoIP service providers in the world capable of handling business communications of all sizes and nature. It is a very powerful and easy to use VoIP service provider that is used by various companies all over the world.
It is highly recommended for businesses of all scales. It is often considered to be even better than Nextiva, but the pricing is on the higher side in comparison. But paying for it is totally worth it, given the benefits it offers. And, you can choose their annual plan which can reduce your expenses considerably.
Features of RingCentral:
- Unlimited phone calls in the United States and Canada
- A toll-free or local number with each plan
- Automatic call recording
- Unlimited audio and video conference calls
- A voicemail-to-text feature
- Reliable cloud-based system
CallHippo:
CallHippo is another most affordable internet business phone system provider with all the standard features at a very affordable price.
CallHippo provides all the standard features of any VoIP service like call hold, call reminder, welcome message, contact management, and a lot more.
CallHippo provides a great advantage as it can be easily integrated with various services like Slack, CRM, Hubspot, Zendesk, Zapier, Pipedrive, etc. to enhance its functionality and help the businesses even better.
Features of CallHippo:
- All standard features like call recording, call waiting, call hold, etc.
- Affordable prices according to requirements
- Integration with third-party apps and services
- Dependable customer support
Grasshopper:
Grasshopper is an easy to use and convenient internet phone system which can be used by established small businesses as well as startups.
You can use your mobile or desktop apps to easily make calls and there is no restriction or limit for the number of usable minutes, unlike a few providers.
Features of Grasshopper:
- Call control, custom greeting, VoIP calling, voicemail, etc.
- No restrictions on the number of minutes
- Easy to set up
- Good customer support
Conclusion
So, do the research and analyze your needs and scale of communications before choosing a VoIP service provider.
Shifting to internet phone numbers is very useful due to several features and low cost. More and more businesses should be looking to shift to internet business phone systems to take their business to a higher level.